Relevance of oral supplementation with antioxidants for prevention and treatment of skin disorders.

Reactive oxygen species can cause harmful effects in keratinocytes and fibroblasts if antioxidative defence mechanisms are exhausted. Therefore, it seems to be reasonable to prove if oral supplementation with various nutrient antioxidants is useful in prevention or treatment of skin disorders especially in those mediated by UV irradiation. Betacarotene, ascorbic acid and tocopherol have been tested alone or in combination for prevention of sunburn, photodermatoses and photocarcinogenesis with divergent results. Other candidates for oral antioxidative supplementation in humans are selenium and polyphenols. However, clinical data are limited or missing up to date.