Nutraceuticals and the Skin: Roles in Health and Disease

The skin is the largest organ of the body and serves as a barrier between the inner and external environments. As such, any problems in the skin can have serious effects on systemic health and well-being. Several studies have established that both nutritional and dietary factors play an important role in the maintenance of normal skin integrity, and can execute a causative, preventative and/or treatment role in a number of skin related conditions. Nutritional factors have been studied for their involvement in skin ageing, acne, inflammation and several chronic immune-mediated disorders such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, diabetes, obesity, wounds and various types of skin cancer. The skin condition, in turn, can affect nutritional choices and subsequent nutritional and health status.

There are a multitude of mechanisms by which nutraceuticals can counteract adverse skin conditions. Consumption of a diet rich in nutrients and vitamins (nutraceuticals and antioxidants), particularly those derived from fruits and vegetables, not only supports health in general, but also skin maintenance and repair in particular. Epidemiological evidence links consumption of these diets with prevention and mitigation of disease progression. For example, nutraceuticals with anti-oxidative or metal chelating properties are being actively evaluated as natural tools to modulate, prevent or inhibit oxidative processes or modulate advanced glycation end products. However, many other properties of dietary compounds with relevance to skin remain to be characterized.

For this Special Issue of Nutrients, we have compiled invited manuscripts describing original research, or reviewing scientific literature examining the role of diets and/or specific nutraceuticals in the prevention and treatment of skin disorders. These articles describe the beneficial effects of plant extracts and plant-derived compounds and their ability to ameliorate diverse skin-related conditions including UV damage, aging, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and skin cancer. A comprehensive article summarizes the results of current clinical trials on nutraceuticals for various skin afflicitons. Finally, the outcome and research methods used for studies on nutraceuticals and skin function, and their compliance with European regulations is analyzed. Taken together, this compilation of articles provides an up-to-date view of research into the application of nutraceuticals for skin health, for the researcher and anyone interested in the application of natural, plant-derived agents for treatment of skin disease.