Resonance Raman spectroscopy for the detection of carotenoids in foodstuffs. Influence of the nutrition on the antioxidative potential of the skin

Abstract

Various fruit, vegetables and plants contain a high amount of carotenoids such as beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and other antioxidants in different concentrations and combinations. These substances used by nature are an effective defense mechanism against the destructive action of free radicals, which are the result of the negative influence of the environment. It was found that the peel of fruit and vegetables usually contains a higher amount of carotenoids than the pulp. Humans cannot synthesize carotenoids by itself, thus, they should be applied systemically with a supplementation rich in these substances. The diet, based on the consumption of a high amount of carotenoid rich products, increased the concentration of carotenoids in the human skin. Taking into consideration the results of previous studies, there is a strong correlation between the appearance of the skin concerning furrows and wrinkles and the level of carotenoid lycopene obtained in the skin. The present results demonstrate that a diet rich in products, which contain a high amount of carotenoids, can be an efficient strategy to reduce skin aging. In the present study, resonance Raman spectroscopy was used as a fast non-invasive optical method for the determination of the carotenoid antioxidant substances in fruit, vegetables and for the determination of the influence of a carotenoid rich diet on the antioxidant level of the human skin. Wavelength, nmAbsorption spectra of solutions of beta-carotene (solid line) and lycopene (dotted line) carotenoid antioxidant substances in ethanol

Interaction between Carotenoids and Free Radicals in Human Skin

“…The results of the study demonstrated that carotenoids taken up by consuming fruit and vegetables are rarely accumulated in the human skin. These results are in agreement with results showing an increase in carotenoid concentration in the skin and blood after a supplementation rich in carotenoids [74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82] .…”

“…It was found that the concentration of the antioxidants correlated with the lifestyle of the volunteers [4] . Individuals with a healthy diet, rich in fruit and vegetables, had higher carotenoid concentrations than the other volunteers, who were smokers and/or only consumed a low amount of fruit and vegetables [4,52,74] . The results obtained there are in agreement with the results obtained by other groups [75,76] .…”

Influence on the Carotenoid Levels of Skin Arising from Age, Gender, Body Mass Index in Smoking/Non-Smoking Individuals

“…[12][13][14][15] In a number of studies, it was shown that the nutrition influences the values, [16][17][18][19][20][21] whereby stress, in form of sun irradiation, illness or the lack of sleep, reduces the values. [20,22,23] However, up to now, no systematic study about the concentration and distribution of the carotenoids in a representative healthy group of the population has been performed.…”

Uptake of Antioxidants by Natural Nutrition and Supplementation: Pros and Cons from the Dermatological Point of View

“…A recently conducted study clearly revealed that stress fac-tors -such as irradiation, environmental conditions, illness, inflammation, smoking and alcohol consumption -also produce free radicals in human skin, and thus may decrease the antioxidant levels of the skin [8,[50][51][52][53][54] . Consequently, a balanced nutritional intake -rich, for instance, in fruit and vegetables, where the antioxidants are naturally balanced -is able to increase the antioxidant levels of the skin [32,55] . Therefore, high amounts of antioxidants in the human skin act as an efficient anti-aging strategy, as recently demonstrated [56] .…”