Botanical antioxidants for skin protection: An overview

Abstract

The skin, situated at the interface between the body and its environment, is constantly exposed to numerous environmental, physical, and chemical agents. Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes dysfunction of signaling pathways, disturbances in the apoptotic machinery, DNA damage, mutations in critical target genes, and immunosuppression. Collective effects of these lead to photocarcinogenesis and photoaging. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel strategies to reduce the adverse biological effects of UV radiation on the skin. The concept of photoprotection is gaining considerable attention as a practical approach to reduce the occurrence of skin cancer and photoaging. In recent years, the use of botanical antioxidants, present in the common diet and beverages consumed by the humans, has gained considerable attention as photoprotective agents. Animal model and cell culture studies have elucidated that botanical antioxidants act by several mechanisms to delay photocarcinogenesis and prevent photoaging. This chapter presents an overview of some of the selected botanical antioxidants for skin protection.Helfaer Professor of Cancer Research, Director and Vice Chair for Research(608) 263-3927(608) 263-5223 © 2011 Springer- Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.