Oxidative Stress and Ageing: The Influence of Environmental Pollution, Sunlight and Diet on Skin

Abstract

Skin ageing is a complex process that is determined by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, which leads to a progressive loss of structure and function. There is extensive evidence indicating that oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species plays an important role in the process of human skin ageing. Mitochondria are the major source of cellular oxidative stress and are widely implicated in cutaneous ageing. Extrinsic skin ageing is driven to a large extent by environmental factors and external stressors such as ultraviolet radiation (UVR), pollution and lifestyle factors which have been shown to stimulate the production of reactive oxygen species and generate oxidative stress. The oxidative damage from these exogenous sources can impair skin structure and function, leading to the phenotypic features of extrinsic skin ageing. The following review highlights the current evidence surrounding the role of mitochondria and oxidative stress in the ageing process and the influence of environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation, pollution and diet on skin ageing.

Individual and combined effects of the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light components of solar radiation on damage biomarkers in human skin cells

“…Mitochondrial DNA damage leads to further mitochondrial dysfunction and ROS production (increasing oxidative stress within the cell) leading to a putative cycle of ROS production and associated mitochondrial damage . mtDNA damage has been implicated in the aging process in several organs, especially the skin, and mtDNA as a biomarker of damage has been previously demonstrated to reliably and sensitively detect UV‐induced cellular damage . Furthermore, nuclear DNA (nDNA) acts as a chromophore primarily for ultraviolet B (UVB, 290‐320 nm) leading to increased photoproducts and nDNA (as well as mtDNA) is damaged indirectly by longer wavelength ultraviolet A (UVA, 320‐400 nm) induced ROS.…”

Equol’s Anti-Aging Effects Protect against Environmental Assaults by Increasing Skin Antioxidant Defense and ECM Proteins While Decreasing Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

“…Environmental pollution is increasing, especially in industrialized countries, and represents a worldwide problem that cannot be passively avoided [31]. Less research has been performed to date on environmental pollutants and human skin aging.…”

“…In reference to human skin aging, journal reports have shown that airborne pollutant exposure is correlated with extrinsic skin aging in adults and children [22,31,39]. However, air pollution represents either indoor or outdoor environmental exposure to any chemical, physical, or biological agent.…”

“…For example, studies have shown that consumption of the Mediterranean diet increased longevity and reduced age-related diseases, lowered levels of oxidative stress, and prevented cellular senescence in human epithelial cells [31]. Moreover, both dietary (via vitamins) and supplementation of antioxidant-rich ingredients (i.e., polyphenolic compounds like green tea or beta-carotene, lycopene, etc.)…”

Potential Use of Spin Traps to Control ROS in Antipollution Cosmetics—A Review

“…In addition, the interaction with nuclear and mitochondrial nucleic acids results in mutations that predispose them to strand breaks [78]. Extrinsic skin aging is generally influenced by environmental factors and external stressors such as UV radiation, pollution and lifestyle factors that stimulate the ROS production and oxidative stress [79].…”