Citation: Tran, J.T.; Diaz, M.J.;
Rodriguez, D.; Kleinberg, G.;
Aflatooni, S.; Palreddy, S.; Abdi, P.;
Taneja, K.; Batchu, S.;
Forouzandeh, M. Evidence-Based
Utility of Adjunct Antioxidant
Supplementation for the Prevention
and Treatment of Dermatologic
Diseases: A Comprehensive
Systematic Review. Antioxidants 2023,
12, 1503. https://doi.org/10.3390/
antiox12081503
Academic Editors: Ivana Beatrice
Mânica Da Cruz and
Fernanda Barbisan
Received: 18 June 2023
Revised: 7 July 2023
Accepted: 14 July 2023
Published: 27 July 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
antioxidants
Systematic Review
Evidence-Based Utility of Adjunct Antioxidant
Supplementation for the Prevention and Treatment of
Dermatologic Diseases: A Comprehensive Systematic Review
Jasmine Thuy Tran
1
, Michael Joseph Diaz
2
, Daphnee Rodriguez
3
, Giona Kleinberg
4
, Shaliz Aflatooni
5
,
Siri Palreddy
6
, Parsa Abdi
7
, Kamil Taneja
8
, Sai Batchu
9,
* and Mahtab Forouzandeh
10,
*
1
School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
2
College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
3
College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32827, USA
4
College of Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
5
Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33602, USA
6
Department of Biology, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002, USA
7
Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. Johns, NL A1B 3V6, Canada
8
Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA;
kamil.taneja@stonybrookmedicine.edu
9
Cooper Medical School, Rowan University, Camden, NJ 08103, USA
10
Department of Dermatology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32606, USA
* Correspondence: batchus1@tcnj.edu (S.B.); mforouzandeh@dermatology.med.ufl.edu (M.F.)
Abstract: Skin conditions are a significant cause of fatal and nonfatal disease burdens globally, rang-
ing from mild irritations to debilitating diseases. Oxidative stress, which is an imbalance between
reactive oxygen species and the cells’ ability to repair damage, is implicated in various skin diseases.
Antioxidants have been studied for their potential benefits in dermatologic health, but the evidence is
limited and conflicting. Herein, we conducted a systematic review of controlled trials, meta-analyses,
and Cochrane review articles to evaluate the current evidence on the utility of antioxidant supple-
mentation for adjunct prevention and treatment of skin disease and to provide a comprehensive
assessment of their role in promoting dermatologic health. The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EM-
BASE, and Epistemonikos databases were queried. Eligibility criteria included (1) primary focus on
nanoparticle utility for skin cancer; (2) includes measurable outcomes data with robust comparators;
(3) includes a number of human subjects or cell-line types, where applicable; (4) English language;
and (5) archived as full-text journal articles. A total of 56 articles met the eligibility criteria for the
present review. Qualitative analysis revealed that topical and oral antioxidant supplementation has
demonstrated preliminary efficacy in reducing sunburns, depigmentation, and photoaging. Dietary
exogenous antioxidants (namely vitamins A, C, and E) have shown chemopreventive effects against
skin cancer. Antioxidant supplementation has also shown efficacy in treating non-cancer dermatoses,
including rosacea, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and acne vulgaris. While further studies are needed to
validate these findings on a larger scale, antioxidant supplementation holds promise for improving
skin health and preventing skin diseases.
Keywords: antioxidant supplementation; vitamins; reactive oxygen species; skin cancer; dermatology
1. Introduction
According to the Global Burden of Disease project, skin conditions are the fourth-
leading source of nonfatal disease burden globally [1]. These conditions can range from
mild irritations to chronic, debilitating diseases that significantly impact a person’s quality
of life. Importantly, skin manifestations can give way to new diagnoses of otherwise occult
systemic diseases, aiding in the timely initiation of important care and optimizing patient
outcomes [2,3].
Antioxidants 2023, 12, 1503. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12081503 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/antioxidants