Cranberry juice polyphenols, glycation, skin aging and cellulite

• Glycation: a major cause of skin/blood vessel ageing and, consequently, cellulite

• Polyphenols inhibit glycation and break down collagen cross-linking

• Polyphenols in cranberries and berry fruits against glycation

• Foods that reverse glycation and anti-glycation supplements

• Cellulite creams with glycation-fighting polyphenols

• Cranberry Juice Polyphenols Inhibited the Formation of Advanced Glycation End Products in Collagens, Inhibited Advanced Glycation End Product-Induced Collagen Crosslinking, and Cleaved the Formed Crosslinks

• Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

• Discover our professional training and consultancy in cellulite, skin tightening, radiofrequency and ultrasound cavitation

Glycation: a major cause of skin/blood vessel ageing and, consequently, cellulite

Glycation is one of the main aspects and causes of cellulite and skin ageing.

Glycation is caused when sugars bond with collagens (there are 28 types of collagen in the human body). The end result of sugar-collagen bonding is collectively known as ‘advanced glycation-end products’ (AGE).

AGEs create cross-links between collagen fibres, affecting the structure of collagen and damaging it. This leads to inflammation, fibrosis, oxidative damage and overall connective tissue deterioration.

Given that collagens are replaced up to every 15 years in the body, glycation can cause long-lasting damage to skin, blood vessels and other collagen-rich tissues, such as the hypodermis, where cellulite is located.

Polyphenols inhibit glycation and break down collagen cross-linking

It has been well known in the last couple of decades that polyphenols can help prevent glycation.

However, a new study now shows that polyphenols - specifically from cranberry juice - not only prevent glycation but also reverse it, by breaking down the formed collagen crosslinks.

The study revealed that procyanidins (aka proanthocyanidins or PAC) were the most effective anti-glycation polyphenols in cranberry juice, followed by flavonols and anthocyanins.

Polyphenols in cranberries and berry fruits against glycation

Cranberry juices and smoothies (and other similar berry juices/smoothies, all rich in procyanidins, flavonols and anthocyanins) can be used as anti-cellulite and anti-ageing super-drinks. This is one of the reasons that berry fruits are justifiably known as superfoods.

Of course, cranberry or any other berry juice should be UNSWEETENED. You do not want to introduce more sugar and glycation into your system with a sweetened juice while fighting glycation.

Foods that reverse glycation and anti-glycation supplements

Cranberry juice supplements, standardised in the above compounds, can also help. Supplements bypass the problem of sourness or the use of glycation-causing sugar used to sweeten cranberry juice.

The most concentrated cranberry supplement we could find was Cysticlean, which contains a whooping 240mg of proanthocyanidins / procyanidins per capsule.

Its main use is against urinary tract infections (UTIs) but since it is packed with anti-glycation and antioxidant phytochemicals, it would make a nice all-round anti-ageing/anti-cellulite nutritional supplement (always consult your healthcare practitioner prior to nutritional supplementation).

Bilberry, blueberry, blackberry and other berries are also packed full with proanthocyanidins and anthocyanins and they also help with glycation.

Chlorogenic acid (from green coffee), carnosine (found in meat, which should not be cooked at high temperatures), hydroxyproline (the key aminoacid in collagen) and centella asiatica / gotu kola extract (also taken as tea) can help inhibit/reduce glycation.

Cellulite creams with glycation-fighting polyphenols

A concentrated body cream rich in polyphenols could help preserve collagen from glycation and oxidative damage - and therefore ensure skin tightness and prevent cellulite.

However, the problem with using strong coloured polyphenols in cosmetics, is that the resulting product is also very strong coloured and highly staining. So cranberry extract in a cellulite cream is out of the question.

The solution to this, in relation to glycation, is to use lighter coloured, but equally or more effective, natural anti-glycation agents, such as chlorogenic acid, carnosine, hydroxyproline or centella asiatica extract, among others, which are also proven to help fight glycation.

Cranberry Juice Polyphenols Inhibited the Formation of Advanced Glycation End Products in Collagens, Inhibited Advanced Glycation End Product-Induced Collagen Crosslinking, and Cleaved the Formed Crosslinks

• Research paper link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.2c06502

• Abstract: Collagens in the human skin are susceptible to glycation due to their long half-life of about 15 years, accumulating advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The formation of AGEs and the subsequent AGE-induced collagen crosslinking are major factors for skin aging. The objective of this study was to determine the capacity of cranberry juice polyphenols (CJPs) and their fractions to inhibit collagen glycation and to break AGE-induced crosslinks in collagens. Concentrated cranberry juice was extracted to obtain the CJP, which was further fractionated into an ethyl acetate fraction, water fraction, 30% methanol (MeOH) fraction, 60% MeOH fraction, MeOH fraction, and acetone fraction. CJPs and their fractions contained different ratios of anthocyanins, procyanidins, and flavonols. All the fractions significantly inhibited collagen glycation assessed with the collagen–methylglyoxal (MGO) or collagen–dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA) assays. The ethyl acetate fraction and 60% MeOH had the lowest IC50 values in the collagen–MGO and collagen–DHAA assays. The methanol fraction (IC50 = 0.52 μg/mL) and acetone fraction (IC50 = 0.019 mg/mL) had the lowest IC50 values in the inhibition and breakage of AGE-induced collagen crosslinking, respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction significantly scavenged the highest amount of MGO and DHAA after incubation compared to the other fractions. Results suggested that procyanidins were the most effective antiglycation agent in both collagen glycation assays, followed by flavonols and anthocyanins. High-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization─tandem mass spectrometry showed that the reactions of DHAA with quercetin or epicatechin formed several adducts with unreported proposed structures. This study suggested that CJPs may be used as active ingredients in cosmetics to prevent skin collagen glycation and crosslinking and to break the formed crosslinks.

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