New Type of Antioxidant Protects Against Sunburns
June 6, 2005
A new type of antioxidant protects against sunburns and is thought to have other, additional health benefits. Similarly, vitamins C and E have been found to work too.
French researchers have created an innovative substance, incorporating a special form of the important antioxidant/enzyme SOD (Super Oxide Dismutase), that can be taken orally without fear of the SOD being destroyed in the stomach prior to assimilation.
The human body itself creates SOD, an essential enzyme. So far, it has only been possible to supply SOD by injection. But thanks to a combination of the enzyme with the wheat protein gliadin, this difficulty has now been overcome. The product (Glisodin) can be bought in Denmark.
Several studies have shown that the new product can achieve significant results in animals and humans. Perhaps most interestingly, the number of mutations decreases in people exposed to oxygen under pressure. Just as relevant is that the preparation prevents sunburn. According to a new study, people with fair skin can tolerate eight times as much radiation as usual before developing a sunburn. This is equivalent to using a sun protection factor of 8.
The trial was conducted at the University Hospital of Besancon in France. It was a randomised trial involving 50 healthy subjects. All received a dose of ultraviolet radiation sufficient to induce redness on the inside of one forearm once a week for four weeks. Half of the participants received the SOD product, while the rest received a placebo, and neither the doctors nor the participants knew who was getting what.
Fair-skinned people, who make up a large proportion of the patients seen by dermatologists, tolerated much more sun when they were given the SOD product. In addition, the redness that occurred after the irradiation subsided more quickly. According to the head of the trial, Professor Philippe Humbert, the trial confirms that the preparation counteracts the oxygen stress (oxidation) that strong sunlight triggers in the skin, and which is, among other things, an important cause of skin aging. The finding is particularly important for people with fair or reddish-blond skin.
Other antioxidants also protect the skin from sun damage. A new German study, for example, showed that a combination of vitamin C and E not only prevents sunburn but also slows down the formation of mutations in the skin. In a 2002 review, dermatologists from the University of Connecticut stated that a combination of beta-carotene, vitamin C and E provided better protection than the individual antioxidants alone. Vitamin D may also protect the skin from the development of melanoma in the early stages.
The enzyme SOD was first discovered in 1968. Since it is a protein, it is normally broken down by gastric and intestinal juices and thus loses its effect. In the new preparation, the SOD has been developed from a special type of watermelon, which is now grown industrially in France and contains one per mille of SOD. This means that it takes a ton of melon to produce one kilogram of the enzyme. By combining the enzyme with the wheat protein gliadin, it can be protected and made to bind to the intestinal wall so that it is absorbed in an intact form. However, no one yet knows what effects this will have in the long term, and it is also an open question whether it can be tolerated by people who are intolerant to wheat.
However, here is a suggestion that is worth trying if you have sensitive skin: Take a combination of vitamins C and E as well as the SOD product and perhaps vitamin D – starting, for example, a week before sunbathing. It seems to help, although you shouldn’t abandon all common sense and let yourself be roasted uninhibitedly in the sun in the middle of the day.
By. Vitality Council
References:
1. CARD (Annual Congress of Dermatological Research) meeting in Brest on May 28th 2005, (report).
2. Placzek M et al. Ultraviolet B-induced DNA damage in human epidermis is modified by the antioxidants ascorbic acid and D-alpha-tocopherol. J Invest Dermatol. 2005 Feb;124(2):304-7.
3. Bialy TL et al. Dietary factors in the prevention and treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancer and melanoma. Dermatol Surg 2002;28:1143-52.
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