Influence of an Oral Supplementation Based on Orthosilicic Acid Choline-Stabilized on Skin, Hair and Nails: A Clinical Study with Objective Approach

Abstract

In recent years, various dietary supplements have been released in the market with the promise of health benefits and functional properties. New trends involving nutrition have been highlighted due to the potential effects of certain food ingredients in the cutaneous aging process, the healthy appearance of skin, hair and nails. Looking at the growing demand for improvement in the appearance of hair, skin and nails and the increased interest of the population by use of nutricosmetics, the aim of this study was to evaluate an oral supplementation with orthossilicic acid choline-stabilized. For this, it was done a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical test. After approval of the ethics committee, were selected 60 women, aged 40 and 65 and they were divided into two groups (treatment and placebo). The daily dose of the supplement for evaluation was 400 mg of orthossilicic acid choline-stabilized for a period of 3 months. Analyzes were done before the treatment (basal-T0) and after 30, 60 and 90 days of treatment and it were evaluated the structural characteristics of the dermis, the mechanical properties of hair and the perception of effectiveness by the volunteers. According to the results, it was observed for the treatment group an increase in echogenicity of the dermis after 90 days of treatment. Thus, it proved that the treatment increased the density of the skin. In addition, the high resolution images showed improvement in skin micro relief and an improvement in skin roughness. There was also increased resistance of the hair and volunteers of treatment group reported improvement in skin, hair and nails. Finally, the oral supplementation of the nutricosmetic with orthossilicic acid choline-stabilized can be suggested as an effective product to increase skin density and to improve hair and nails conditions, complementary to topical treatments.