Abstract
Background/Objectives: The term “nutraceuticals” refers to food and dietary supplements promoted for their health benefits in addition to their nutritional value. These products contain plant- or animal-derived nutrients, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and similar compounds aimed at enhancing skin health and influencing visible skin quality. This review provides an overview of the current research on nutraceuticals and the scientific evidence supporting their effects on skin health.
Methods: The literature on more than 50 selected nutraceuticals was examined to assess any clinically substantiated, beneficial effects on skin health. The assessment was based on scientific evidence, including the quality and quantity of empirically gathered and evaluated findings. Results: A total of 17 common dietary supplements, either as individual compounds or categorized into groups, along with some combination products, were identified as nutraceuticals with well-supported effects on skin health. These include, among others, vitamins A, B7, C, and E; collagen peptides; carotenoids; and various plant extracts. For many other nutraceuticals, clinical evidence for their effects on skin health is limited or insufficient.
Conclusions: The literature indicates that many nutraceuticals marketed for skin health are more or less suitable for this application based on the evidence assessment.
Introduction
Nutraceuticals represent a modern generation of food and dietary supplements that claim health benefits. To date, numerous review articles have evaluated nutraceuticals [1,2,3,4]. Regarding skin, several reviews have addressed various aspects of skin health, focusing on a limited selection or special groups of nutraceuticals [5,6,7,8], particular aspects of skin health [9,10,11,12,13,14] or nutribiotics for skin care [15]. A recent review article demonstrates a clear connection between diet and skin health and provides recommendations for the use of certain key nutrients [16]. However, there has not yet been a comprehensive evaluation of commercially available nutraceuticals marketed for skin health in terms of their clinically proven efficacy.
This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of science and research regarding the demonstrated effects of nutraceuticals on skin health. The main objective of this review is to classify a broad range of commercially available nutraceuticals based on the availability and quality of published efficacy data. Health claims for nutrients are regulated in the EU by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The EU Regulation 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims on foods, commonly referred to as the Health Claims for Food Regulation, establishes uniform requirements across Europe for the use of such claims [17]. Nutritional claims describe specific nutritional properties of foods, such as their energy content or their content of nutrients or other substances. Health-related claims establish a connection between nutrients in a product and health benefits. They are strictly regulated and apply only to the nutrients contained in the nutraceuticals. Usually, health claims refer to the influence on structures and functions of the body.
In contrast, beauty claims relate to the appearance of the body [18], such as skin appearance. Beauty claims also require scientifically substantiated justification. However, they are not subject to EFSA review, as beauty claims cannot, by definition, be health claims at the same time. Scientific evidence of efficacy is nonetheless essential for beauty claims as well. To provide greater clarity regarding the skin effects of nutraceuticals, common nutraceuticals have been assessed for their suitability in influencing skin health based on the available studies and taking into account the evidence and relevance of data.
Due to the complexity of the topic, the wide range of nutraceuticals, and the great range of informative value of the existing studies, the subjective assessments of the authors play a decisive role in the classification of the substances. Therefore, this review can only be narrative in nature, although efforts were made to incorporate as many aspects of a systematic or scoping review as possible.
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Streker, M.; Proksch, E.; Kattenstroth, J.-C.; Poeggeler, B.; Lemmnitz, G. Comparative Assessment of Nutraceuticals for Supporting Skin Health. Nutraceuticals 2025, 5, 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/nutraceuticals5020013
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