Antioxidant found in berries helps prevent skin damage
A study conducted in South Korea by a group of researchers into the effect of a particular antioxidant found in berries, fruits and some vegetables was published on Tuesday April 21, 2009 with conclusive findings that the antibiotic ellagic acid does in fact help fight against skin damage.
Earlier studies have suggested that ellagic acid had a photoprotective effect, or that it could act as a barrier against UV radiation which is the cause of skin damage as a result of cell mutation.
For two months the Korean scientists exposed 12 hairless mice to high levels of UV radiation, at a level that would cause sun burn on human skin. During the experiment half of the mice were also given 10 micro litres of ellagic acid on their skin surface, with the other half of the mice receiving no ellagic acid whilst being exposed to UV.
After two months, as expected the mice without receiving doses of ellagic acid had visible wrinkles on their skin. As hypothesised the mice that received applications of ellagic acid to their skin had visibly smaller wrinkles which had developed as a result of the prolonged UV exposure.
In support of this experiment, study of human cells show that ellagic acid reduces the inflammatory response and matrix metalloproteinases secretion to protect against degredation of collagen (connective protein found in animal cells). Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are an inflammatory response enzyme capable of breaking down protein and is responsible for cell behaviours such as cell proliferation and defence. This enzyme is linked with damage and cancer of skin and other tissues, usually due to environmental factors such as excess UV light. MMP is capable of breaking down collagen and assisting the expansion and proliferation of mutated cells if they develop.
The antioxidant Ellagic acid helps reduce the amount of skin damage caused during sunlight exposure by stopping UV from destroying the collagen protein in the cell matrix and by controlling the inflammatory response of MMP.
Sources:
Science Daily, 2009. Antioxidant Found in Berries, Other Foods Prevents UV Skin Damage That Leads to Wrinkles, Retrieved 26 April 2009, from:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421154318.htm
By Amelia Soderholm, 42004008
