Benefits of Black Tomato Fruit

Benefits of Black Tomato Fruit

NUTRACEUTICALS AND THE SKIN 
Nutraceutical is a hybrid term coined from “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical” in 1989 by Stephen De Felice, MD. It was defined by De Felice as “a food (or part of a food) that provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and/or treatment of a disease.” These dietary components found in foods can be used to delay natural aging process, protect against chronic diseases, promote physiological benefit or support body function and structure.

The skin, as a multilayer interface between the human body and the environment, is daily exposed to intrinsic and extrinsic factors that can promote alterations on its condition and functionality, leading to photoaging, inflammation, immune dysfunction, and imbalanced epidermal homeostasis.

Intrinsic factors relate mainly to the natural cellular aging process but can be stimulated by extrinsic factors such as sunlight exposure, diet, smoking, hormonal imbalance, and air pollution. Extrinsic factors are responsible for a cascade of cutaneous reactions and inflammation initiated by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing oxidative damage to proteins, lipids, and nucleic acid. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors are implicated on aged skin appearance, where increased roughness, pigmentation, wrinkling, telangiectasias, and loss of firmness can be observed.

A common way of classifying nutraceuticals is according to the food source as dietary fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, polyunsaturated fatty acids, minerals, amino acids, carotenoids, vitamins, phytochemicals and spices.
Potential clinical benefits of popular nutraceuticals on skin health and antiaging (Souyoul SA, Saussy KP, Lupo MP. Nutraceuticals: A Review. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2018 Mar;8(1):5-16.) 

DIETARY FIBER  Non-starch polysaccharides 
Mechanism of action: change of gut microbiota composition and function 
Oral source: fruits, oats, barley, and beans 
Skin function: immunomodulatory 

PROBIOTICS 
Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium species 
Mechanism of action: improve intestinal microbial balance 
Oral source: live microbial feed supplement (powder, liquid, gel, paste) 
Skin function: modulate the immune system; provide therapeutic benefits for atopic diseases 

PREBIOTICS 
Short chain polyssacharides 
Mechanism of action: selectively alter the composition or metabolism of the gut microbiota 
Oral source: chicory roots, banana, tomato, alliums 
Skin function: modulate the immune system; provide therapeutic benefits for atopic diseases 

AMINO ACIDS 
N-Acetylcysteine 
Mechanism of action: increase in red blood cell glycine, cysteine, glutathione concentrations; decline in oxidative stress and plasma markers for oxidant damage 
Oral source: cysteine and glycine supplementation 
Skin function: protects against oxidative stress 

CAROTENOIDS 
β-Carotene 
Mechanism of action: inhibits free radicals and singlet oxygen-induced lipid peroxidation; decreases MMP-9 activity 
Oral source: green leafy vegetables, carrots, yellow or orange fruits 
Skin function: scavenges ROS to protect against oxidative stress and decrease UV exposure; protects against extracellular matrix degradation 

Lutein and zeaxanthin 
Mechanism of action: blocks damaging blue wavelengths and prevents free radical damage 
Oral source: green leafy vegetables, eggs 
Skin function: antioxidant and decrease UV exposure 

Lycopene 
Mechanism of action: singlet oxygen quencher; decreases MMP-1 activity; induces cell-cycle arrest and induces apoptosis 
Oral source: tomato paste, pink grapefruit, watermelon 
Skin function: lowers UV-induced erythema; decreases collagen breakdown; inhibits proliferation of certain cancer cells; decreases skin roughness 

FATTY ACIDS 
α-Linoleic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) 
Mechanism of action: inhibits formation of proinflammatory cytokines (i.e. prostaglandins, leukotrienes); decreases prostaglandin-E2 production 
Oral source: flaxseed oil, canola oil, hemp seed oil, fatty fish (salmon, herring, trout, blue fin tuna), nuts, seeds, red /black currant seeds 
Skin function: anti-inflammatory; reduces UVR-induced inflammation; increases MED (minimal erythemal dose) 

MINERALS 
Copper 
Mechanism of action: cofactor in enzymatic reactions for collagen crosslinking with lysyl oxidase and skin pigmentation with tyrosinase; promotes keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation 
Oral source: nuts, seeds, seafood, meat, grains 
Skin function: collagen crosslinking, skin pigmentation, skin rejuvenation, wound repair, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial properties 

Selenium 
Mechanism of action: aids glutathione peroxidases and thioredoxin reductases, removing damaging lipid hydroperoxides, hydrogen peroxide, peroxynitrites 
Oral source: Brazil nuts, meat and seafood 
Skin function: supports DNA synthesis and repair, cell apoptosis and guards against oxidative damage, leading to cell membrane stabilization and protects against DNA damage 

Zinc 
Mechanism of action: protects against lipid peroxidation, UVR-induced cytotoxicity, and oxidative stress. Necessary for epidermal proliferation and keratinocyte differentiation. Hinders intracellular adhesion molecule 1; decreases nitric oxide production 
Oral source: non-milled whole grains, red meat, seafood, fortified products (i.e., cereal) 
Skin function: cofactor for cellular activity and defense; skin cell proliferation; wound healing; anti-inflammatory properties 

POLYPHENOLS 
Curcumin 
Mechanism of action: hinders production of cancer cells, encourages apoptosis, promotes cell death by influencing p53 expression and decreases NF-κB production. Suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines. Suppresses ROS production by scavenging free oxygen radicals; inhibits lipid peroxidation. Decreases C-reactive protein 
Oral source: turmeric spice, curry 
Skin function: antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties 

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) 
Mechanism of action: inhibits lipid peroxidation, limits UVR-induced DNA damage, reduces ROS and free radical production. Suppresses pro-inflammatory inducers (i.e., cyclooxygenase-2, MMPs). Supports cell cycle arrest and apoptosis 
Oral source: green tea leaves, green tea, commercially available in white powder form 
Skin function: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic properties. Reduces UVR-induced erythema/edema 

VITAMINS 
Vitamin C 
Mechanism of action: free radical scavenger; essential cofactor and electron donor during collagen hydroxylation. Reduces UVB-induced oxidative damage. Protects against UVA-induced lipid peroxidation. Decreases malondialdehyde 
Oral source: raw red and green peppers, grapefruits, kiwi, broccoli, strawberries, Brussel sprouts 
Skin function: powerful antioxidant; contributes to collagen biosynthesis; accelerates wound healing 

Vitamin E; alpha-tocopherol 
Mechanism of action: halts formation of reactive oxygen species, scavenges free radicals, stabilizes cell membranes, reduces apoptotic cells, minimizes activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) 
Oral source: sunflower seeds, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, sesame seeds, fruits, and vegetables 
Skin function: protects against oxidative stress; first line defense against ROS; photoprotective properties