Vitamin
C Protects Our Skin
Editor's Note: Topical vitamin C serums are looking
to be very important in an overall anti-aging skin care program.
Additionally, it appears that vitamin C serums may protect against
skin cancer.
STUDY SHOWS ANTIOXIDANTS PLAY VITAL ROLE IN PROTECTING SKIN
Sun-worshippers beware: Most sunscreen products offer
inadequate protection against the harmful effects of the sun’s
ultraviolet radiation.
But there is hope, says a University of Illinois researcher who
developed a technique to peer into the skin and study how it is affected by
ultraviolet radiation. The addition of antioxidants such as vitamins E or
C can help prevent skin cancer and keep skin firm and young looking. “Ultraviolet radiation is known to cause several forms of skin cancer,
including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell cancer and deadly
melanoma,” said Kerry Hanson, a postdoctoral research scientist in the UI’s
Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics. “But many important questions remain,
such as in which layers of the skin, and in which parts of skin cells,
the initial damage occurs.”
Sunscreens with a sun protection factor of 15 can block up to 94
percent of the ultraviolet light, Hanson said, but the residual light that
does penetrate the skin can create free radicals – highly reactive
molecules that can weaken or destroy cell membranes. Free radicals can also
damage DNA, create age spots and wrinkles, and depress the immune
system, increasing the risk of skin cancer.
To study the effects of ultraviolet radiation on free radical
generation and the role this plays in skin damage, Hanson employs a two-photon
laser fluorescence-imaging microscope. She images the skin at varying
depths after ultraviolet exposure, looking for fluorescent tags that
reveal the presence of free radicals. She also looks for resulting damage
in the skin cells.
Using the technique, Hanson found that the stratum corneum – the skin’s
main protective barrier against environmental assault – generated a
tremendous number of free radicals when exposed to ultraviolet light.
“These free radicals caused considerable damage to both the cytoplasm and
the lipid matrix,” she said. “The cytoplasm of the lower epidermis was
also dramatically damaged.”
While typical sunscreens offer no protection against free radical
damage, the addition of antioxidants could significantly reduce the
generation of free radicals. In a recent study, Hanson examined the quenching
effectiveness of three antioxidants: vitamin E acetate, vitamin E
alcohol and sodium ascorbyl phosphate (stable vitamin C).
“Vitamin C was by far the best quencher,” she said. “There are natural
enzymes in your skin that cleave the phosphate group and form a
reservoir of vitamin C. The best results were achieved after multiple
applications of the antioxidants when a significant amount of vitamin C
accumulated within the skin. Any free radicals that are generated will be
quenched by the vitamin C stored in your skin.”
Skin cancer – caused by repeated sunburn – can develop over a lifetime,
Hanson says. “So, the next time you are going out to bake in the sun,
wear plenty of sunscreen. And use one that has an antioxidant.”
The Cancer Research Foundation of America and the Skin Cancer
Foundation funded the work.
Source: University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
Date Posted: 2001-09-03
Web Address:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases
|
|
