Written by Joyce Smith, BS. Lycoderm, a carotenoid-rich tomato nutrient, significantly protected against UVB-induced erythema and significantly reduced skin inflammation by attenuating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNFα and IL-6.
In a previous double-blind, randomized trial of sixty-five healthy volunteers, Grether-Beck et al 1 demonstrated that a lycopene-rich tomato nutrient complex (TNC) and lutein were able to protect against the damaging effects of skin exposure to UVA1 (340–400 nm) and UVA- (320–400 nm)/UVB- (280–320 nm). Following a twelve-week supplementation, the tomato nutrient complex not only reduced the redness of the UV-exposed skin but at a molecular level it upregulated markers associated with oxidative stress, inflammation and aging.
In the present study by the same authors 2, the above benefits were tested in a much larger double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter study of 149 healthy volunteers. The objective was to determine whether Lycoderm (the carotenoid-rich tomato nutrient used in the previous study) could protect against UV-induced erythema formation; assessed as an increase in the intensity of redness of the irradiated skin, and the upregulation of molecular markers associated with inflammation, and finally, whether this correlated with carotenoid blood levels.
Two treatment groups were subjected to a five-week wash-out phase, followed by a twelve-week supplementation phase. They received either carotenoid-rich TNC soft gel capsules containing 7.5 mg lycopene, 2.9 mg phytoene and phytofluene, 0.4 mg β-carotene, 2.8 mg tocopherols from tomato extract, and 2 mg carnosic acid from rosemary extract per capsule (2 capsules per daily dose) or a placebo made from medium-chain triglycerides. At the end of each phase, participants were exposed to controlled local UV radiation both at baseline and post supplementation. Chromametry analysis to evaluate erythema intensity, blood samples, and biopsies to evaluate cytokine mRNA levels were done following the UV exposure.
Compared to the placebo, Lycoderm, the carotenoid-containing supplement, significantly protected against UVB-induced erythema formation after the washout phase. Furthermore, supplementation with Lycoderm significantly protected against UVB-induced upregulation of inflammatory cytokines IL6 (P=0.012) and TNFα (P=0.033) as compared to supplementation with placebo. Lastly, carotenoid plasma levels were significantly increased as a result of Lycoderm supplementation.
Results from this study revealed that Lycoderm can help boost the skins resilience to UV-induced erythema formation and, in addition, help reduce the local inflammatory process in the skin by protecting against upregulation of mRNA levels of IL-6 and TNFα. Of interest, the daily amount of lycopene used in the current study equates to 52 g of canned tomato paste and the amount of beta-carotene to 90 g 3. The amount of vitamin E would be obtained by a daily intake of 130 g of canned tomato paste 3.
A strength of the study is the double‐blind, randomized, controlled design. In addition, the crossover design increased the power and decreased the confounding covariates as each volunteer was his/her own control.
Source: Groton, Katharina, Alessandra Marini, Susanne Gretter-Beck, Thomas Jarnicki, Sally H. Ibbotson, Harry Moseley, James Ferguson, and Jean Krugman. “Tomato phytonutrients balance UV response: results from a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study.” Skin pharmacology and physiology 32, no. 2 (2019): 101-108.
Copyright © 2019 by S. Karter AG, Basel
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Posted October 14, 2019.
Joyce Smith, BS, is a degreed laboratory technologist. She received her bachelor of arts with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology from the University of Saskatchewan and her internship through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Bloomingdale, IL.
References:
- Grether‐Beck S, Marini A, Jaenicke T, Stahl W, Krutmann J. Molecular evidence that oral supplementation with lycopene or lutein protects human skin against ultraviolet radiation: results from a double‐blinded, placebo‐controlled, crossover study. British Journal of Dermatology. 2017;176(5):1231-1240.
- Groten K, Marini A, Grether-Beck S, et al. Tomato phytonutrients balance UV response: results from a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Skin pharmacology and physiology. 2019;32(2):101-108.
- USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Legacy. April, 2018.
