Bioavailability and Skin Bioefficacy of Vitamin C and E

Publisher Summary Skin is constantly exposed to pro-oxidant environmental stresses from an array of sources, such as air pollutants, solar UV light, chemical oxidants, micro-organisms, cigarette smoke, and ozone, which causes many changes in the skin. The most popular nutrients to alleviate skin changes such as aging, photosensitivity, and dryness are vitamins, carotenoids, polyphenols, and minerals. The blood continuously replenishes the skin with bioactives, which can then be distributed to all skin compartments, that is, epidermis, dermis, subcutaneous fat, and also sebum. This chapter presents the mechanisms involved in the bioavailability of nutrients such as vitamins C and E at the intestinal as well as at the skin level but also their bioefficacies in skin. Vitamin E has been shown to present an antioxidant property, and to play a role in photoprotection and in the prevention of aging, alone or in association with vitamin C. Literature on vitamin C for skin benefits is more abundant, showing evidence for the beneficial effect of this ingredient on dermal matrix formation, or epidermal differentiation, against UV-induced skin damage, and oxidative stress, indicating that vitamin C supplementation may be of interest to target skin aging, photoprotection, and skin xerosis. This chapter reviews current knowledge on the journey of dietary bioactives, that is, vitamin C and vitamin E from the mouth to skin, as well as their biological activities in the skin.