Antioxidant and reduced skin-ageing effects of a polyphenol-enriched dietary supplement in response to air pollution: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

BACKGROUND: Air pollution exposure is one of the major threats to skin health and accelerates skin ageing mainly through oxidative stress mechanisms. Since it is difficult to minimize skin exposure to air pollutants, especially in urban areas, strategies to protect the skin are needed. Plant phenolic compounds have been found to be effective in attenuating cellular oxidative stress and inflammation induced by different air pollutants and a dietary approach based on these compounds could provide an efficient protection measure. OBJECTIVE: Here we investigated the efficacy of a commercially available polyphenol-enriched dietary supplement (Zeropollution(®)) in reducing pollution-induced oxidative stress and in improving different skin parameters related to skin ageing of Caucasian and Asian subjects exposed to air pollution. Zeropollution is composed of four standardized herbal extracts: Olea europaea leaf, Lippia citriodora, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Sophora japonica. DESIGN: A double-blind randomized, parallel group study was carried out on 100 outdoor workers living in a polluted urban European area (Milan) to assess the efficacy of the dietary supplement. The total antioxidant capacity on saliva (FRAP), the oxidative damage on skin (lipoperoxides content), skin moisturization (corneometer), transepidermal water loss (tewameter), skin radiance and colour (spectrophotometer), skin elasticity (cutometer), skin sebum content (sebumeter), and the skin roughness (image analysis) were measured. RESULTS: Both inter-group and intra-group analysis proved that the dietary supplement improved all clinical and biochemical-monitored parameters, in both Caucasian and Asian individuals. Some of the positive effects such as decreased wrinkle depth, increased elasticity and firmness, improved skin moisturization and transepidermal water loss, and reduced dark spots pigmentation were statistically significant as early as 2 weeks of product consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study indicate reduced oxidative stress-induced skin damage in both Asian and Caucasian women living in a polluted urban area. Therefore, the oral intake of this four-plant based supplement could be considered a complementary nutrition strategy to avoid the negative effects of environmental pollution exposure.