Flavonoids, skin anti-ageing and cellulite

• Plant beauty from inside and out with flavonoids: Rutin, hesperidin, quercetin, apigenin, fistein, myricetin and more…

• Bioflavonoid skin benefits

• Rutin, hesperidin, quercetin, vitamin C and your skin

• Non-citrus flavonoid skin VIPs

• When it comes to anti-ageing and overall health maintenance, flavonoids are true multitaskers

• Apigenin, quercetin, EGCG, rutin, hesperidin and your skin

• Flavonoids’ antioxidant protection via Nrf2 and HO-1: the example of fisetin

• Flavonoids in skincare/cellulite creams: problems and solutions

• More than skincare

• Flavonoids & skin care: the future is yellow

Plant beauty from inside and out with flavonoids: Rutin, hesperidin, quercetin, apigenin, fistein, myricetin and more…

Most women, and an increasing number of men, use anti-ageing skin products to stay young and fight the signs of ageing.

In addition, an increasing number of consumers also use nutri-cosmetics, i.e. nutritional supplements that are specifically geared to protecting skin from within.

In this article we examine a class of natural compounds that can boost skin health and beauty from both within and outside.

Bioflavonoid skin benefits

Most anti-ageing skin products today utilise natural active ingredients with the aim to protect skin from ageing factors such as:

• Free radical damage

• Inflammation

• Tendency to irritation

• UV damage

• Glycation

• DNA damage induced by blue light / pollution

Most nutricosmetics (nutritional supplements used for skincare) are also based on plant nutrients and aim to protect skin from the same ageing factors.

The common denominator in many of those active ingredients is a class of plant chemicals with multiple beneficial actions on human health, wellbeing and beauty, called flavonoids (and sometimes bioflavonoids).

Flavonoids took their name from the Latin word flavus, meaning yellow, the natural colour of many of those phytochemicals.

Flavonoids are found abundantly in traditional wholesome human diets, such as the Mediterranean diet, and are responsible to a large extent for those diets' health benefits.

Rutin, hesperidin, quercetin, vitamin C, skin and cellulite

My first introduction to bioflavonoids (the original name of flavonoids) was back in the mid-80s when I used to enrich my diet as a competitive athlete with nutritional supplements based on vitamin C and the citrus fruit flavonoids rutin, hesperidin and quercetin, the archetypal "bioflavonoids".

Both vitamin C and especially the three bioflavonoids are known to collectively boost collagen/elastin synthesis, protect existing collagen/elastin, inhibit fat accumulation and support healthy circulation*.

Flavonoids are ideal for healthy-minded athletes and non-athletes alike.

Thirty years later I am amazed to still be using flavonoids, not just as nutritional supplements, but more importantly, as active ingredients in anti-ageing, skin tightening and cellulite treatments at our clinic in London and in the Celluence® leg wellness / cellulite creams.

(* Skin anti-ageing, skin firming and cellulite removal immediately spring to mind!)

Non-citrus flavonoid skin VIPs

In addition to the original flavonoids mentioned above, other well-known and well-researched flavonoids are also widely used in cosmetics, either as isolated molecules or as the active components in plant extracts:

• Apigenin, found in chamomile

• Myricetin, found in parsley

• Taxifolin (dihydroquercetin), found in siberian larch

• Catechin, found in cocoa

• Fisetin, found in strawberries and apples

• Epicatechin, found in tea

• EGCG, found in green tea

• Proanthocyanidins, found in berry fruits

This is by no means an exhaustive list but represents some of the most commonly used flavonoids in health and beauty.

When it comes to anti-ageing and overall health maintenance, flavonoids are true multitaskers

Most flavonoids exhibit multiple anti-ageing actions on skin cells, blood vessels, fat cells and immune cells, which ultimately manifest to the naked eye as younger, healthier looking skin

Such actions include inflammation control, free radical damage protection, blood vessel support, fibrosis inhibition, adipogenesis inhibition, protection of collagen and elastin from degradation, skin repair, stimulation of new collagen/elastin synthesis etc.

Apigenin, quercetin, EGCG, rutin, hesperidin and your skin

For example, apigenin from chamomile is known to help boost skin collagen; prevent UV-induced inflammation and overall toxicity and ageing; protect epidermal permeability; fight free radicals / oxidation; boost skin repair; fight inflammation and irritation; and it has even been described as a promising molecule for skin cancer prevention.

Other more researched flavonoids, such as quercetin and EGCG for example, have an even longer list of actions, demonstrated in literally hundreds of in-vitro, in-vivo and clinical studies.

Due to that multi-functional action, flavonoids are ideal for use in anti-ageing creams, lotions and serums. Skin, especially aged skin, needs all the help it can get in terms of collagen production and protection, circulation and inflammation control.

On the other hand, over the decades some flavonoids have come to be associated with specific benefits. For example rutin is known as an anti-cellulite agent, quercetin for its anti-irritant action, hesperidin for circulation improvement and EGCG for its overall anti-ageing benefits.

Flavonoids’ antioxidant protection via Nrf2 and HO-1: the example of fisetin

In addition, every day we discover something new about flavonoids and add to our knowledge of them. For example, as I was writing this article I received an alert about a new study that describes the hair regrowth potential of EGCG and dihydroquercetin.

Furthermore, we now know that what we call "antioxidants" (including flavonoids), do not directly inhibit oxidation, as previously believed, but they stimulate the secretion of the body's own antioxidant and anti-inflammatory defences, by activating proteins such as Nrf2 and HO-1.

A study, for example, has found that the flavonoid fisetin fights inflammation and oxidative damage by this exact pathway. Many similar studies are conducted every year, enabling us to constantly improve our knowledge of flavonoids and their action on skin, and overall health.

Flavonoids in skincare/cellulite creams: problems and solutions

In spite of their diverse anti-ageing benefits, three problems inhibit the wide and intensive inclusion of flavonoids in topical anti-ageing products:

• Their colour: nobody wants to apply a deep yellow cream on their face or body

• Poor stability: as antioxidants, flavonoids are prone to oxidation themselves, leading to skincare products containing them becoming gradually darker (just like vitamin C skincare products, which turn brown with time)

• Poor absorption

These problems can be effectively solved by:

• Using isolated molecules in formulations, as opposed to plant extracts, so that a smaller quantity needs be used in the product, leading to lighter coloured skin products

• Stabilising flavonoids with palmitate and liposomes or by using their glycosides, which are more stable and absorbable.

Examples include hesperidin glucoside, palmitoylated catechins or liposomal EGCG, which all benefit from better stability and absorption.

More than skincare

Needless to say that the same molecules, when consumed internally, in the form of fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and nutritional supplements (nutricosmetics) can help with whole body health and anti-ageing - and can also help fight cellulite and skin looseness from the inside.

Flavonoids & skin care: the future is yellow

Due to their diverse action and very low toxicity, flavonoids are widely used in cosmetics with already great results, despite the low percentage of inclusion due to colour and poor stability.

However, the continuous discovery and development of new isolation, stabilisation and delivery methods are gradually leading to the ability to include flavonoids in anti-ageing products in higher amounts, for more impressive and faster results.

However, whether cosmetic companies eventually rise up to the challenge and end up using those molecules in higher amounts or just choose to keep to the older and more profitable habits of using 0.01% actives in their products, is a totally different matter altogether.

One thing is certain, if you have recently bought a quality anti-ageing cream, chances are it may well contain one or more flavonoids, albeit in very small, “label decorative” amounts, unfortunately.

So go on, check that label and see how many flavonoids, or at least flavonoid containing plant extracts, you can find on it.

Fisetin inhibits TNF-A-induced inflammatory action and hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative damage in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells through PI3K/AKT/Nrf-2-mediated heme oxygenase-1 expression

• Research paper link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26590114/

• Abstract: Oxidative skin damage and skin inflammation play key roles in the pathogenesis of skin-related diseases. Fisetin is a naturally occurring flavonoid abundantly found in several vegetables and fruits. Fisetin has been shown to exert various positive biological effects, such as anti-cancer, anti-proliferative, neuroprotective and anti-oxidative effects. In this study, we investigate the skin protective effects and anti-inflammatory properties of fisetin in hydrogen peroxide- and TNF-α-challenged human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. When HaCaT cells were treated with non-cytotoxic concentrations of fisetin (1-20μM), heme oxygenase (HO)-1 mRNA and protein expression increased in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, fisetin dose-dependently increased cell viability and reduced ROS production in hydrogen peroxide-treated HaCaT cells. Fisetin also inhibited the production of NO, PGE2 IL-1β, IL-6, expression of iNOS and COX-2, and activation of NF-κB in HaCaT cells treated with TNF-α. Fisetin induced Nrf2 translocation to the nuclei. HO-1 siRNA transient transfection reversed the effects of fisetin on cytoprotection, ROS reduction, NO, PGE2, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α production, and NF-κB DNA-binding activity. Moreover, fisetin increased Akt phosphorylation and a PI3K pathway inhibitor (LY294002) abolished fisetin-induced cytoprotection and NO inhibition. Taken together, these results provide evidence for a beneficial role of fisetin in skin therapy.