Skin Carotenoids in Public Health and Nutricosmetics: The Emerging Roles and Applications of the UV Radiation-Absorbing Colourless Carotenoids Phytoene and Phytofluene

Abstract

In this work, the importance of dietary carotenoids in skin health and appearance is comprehensively reviewed and discussed. References are made to their applications in health-promoting and nutricosmetic products and the important public health implications that can be derived. Attention is focused on the colourless UV radiation (UVR)-absorbing dietary carotenoids phytoene and phytofluene, which are attracting increased interest in food science and technology, nutrition, health and cosmetics. These compounds are major dietary carotenoids, readily bioavailable, and have been shown to be involved in several health-promoting actions, as pinpointed in recent reviews. The growing evidence that these unique UVR-absorbing carotenoids with distinctive structures, properties (light absorption, susceptibility to oxidation, rigidity, tendency to aggregation, or even fluorescence, in the case of phytofluene) and activities can be beneficial in these contexts is highlighted. Additionally, the recommendation that the levels of these carotenoids are considered in properly assessing skin carotenoid status is made.

Antioxidant capacity in fruit of Citrus cultivars with marked differences in pulp coloration: Contribution of carotenoids and vitamin C

“…To our knowledge, this is the first report of the analysis of carotenoids in a red-fleshed mutant of Valencia orange, and it is worth to remark that such large amount of phytoene in its flesh is the highest so far reported for a citrus fruit (Alquézar et al., 2008; Rodrigo et al., 2003, 2019). Since accumulation of significant amounts of phytoene is not common in fruits of other species (Alquézar et al., 2008) and that important health-related benefits have been assigned to this carotene (Meléndez-Martínez et al., 2018, 2019; Rao and Rao, 2007), Valencia Ruby is an useful and promising orange cultivar in order to provide fresh fruit or derived products with added value and potential health benefits.…”

Bioactive Properties of Carotenoids in Human Health

“…As Dr. Melendez-Martinez’s review points out, these carotenes have been largely ignored for many years by the carotenoid field, a topic that recently has been gaining more interest. Since these carotenes accumulate in the skin, it is not a surprise that these enigmatic carotenes play a role in skin protection against UV light and are therefore involved in skin aging and health [6].…”

Characterization of Andean Blueberry in Bioactive Compounds, Evaluation of Biological Properties, and In Vitro Bioaccessibility

“…Unlike many other Ibero-American fruits and vegetables, the carotenoid profile of Andean blueberry is basically unknown [ 3 ]. The study of carotenoids is very important as they are very versatile compounds with many applications in agro-food and nutricosmetics [ 4 , 5 ]. As far as we know, only few works have published the profile and content of phenolic compounds in V. floribundum Kunth evaluated by HPLC–MS/MS [ 6 , 7 ].…”