Israel-based LycoRed, which markets nutricosmetic dietary supplements, has singled out a study conducted by Berlin-based Charite-University of Medicine that draws a strong correlation to the use of lycopene-based supplements and an improvement in skin health and quality.
The study was carried out on 20 subjects aged between 40 and 50 years old who took a lycopene-based supplement. The results were assessed quantitatively using a technologically advanced optic in vivo method that focused on the subjects forehead.
Concentrations of lycopene and effect on wrinkles
Focusing on the furrows and wrinkles in this area of the face, the study concurrently assessed the concentrations of lycopene to determine the effects on the skin before and after treatment.
The results found that, although there was no significant correlation to the age of the subject and the skin roughness, there was a significant correlation between the skin roughness and the levels of lycopene.
The study concluded that the higher levels of lycopene concentration in the skin derived from the supplements correlated to lower levels of skin roughness.
Supplement-makers such as LycoRed argue that there is a need to take lycopene as a supplement because the body does not produce its own and a lycopene-rich tomato extract is a very powerful antioxidant that can have a significant impact on skin health.
Antioxidant rich diet equates to healthier skin
“Increasing dietary levels of lycopene through daily supplementation with tomato lycopene is an easy way to ensure the continued presence of high skin levels of these protectant antioxidants, to help protect the skin from photo-damage and environmental pollutants, and to preserve the skin’s smoothness,” said Zohar Nir, V.P for product development and science at LycoRed.
Lycopene is a bright red carotenoid that is found naturally in a range of red-coloured fruits including tomatoes, melons, papayas and pink grapefruits.
A number of studies suggest the potential of the ingredient to protect cells against the damage caused by reactive oxygen species, including those caused by UV radiation to the skin, and it appears in many dietary supplements designed to help protect the skin against UV damage.
A recent report from market research company Leatherhead foods detailing the anti-ageing foods category, flagged up carotenoids as a family of ingredients that are likely to become ever more present in the beauty from within category.
Source: Maxim Darwin et al, Charite-University of Medicine in Berlin; Cutaneous Concentration of Lycopene Correlates Significantly with the Roughness of the Skin, European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics , 2009.