SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Med.
Sec. Dermatology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1582946
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovations in Cosmetic Dermatology: Advancing Non-Surgical Aesthetic ProceduresView all articles
Effectiveness of Dietary Supplements for Skin Photoaging in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Provisionally accepted
- 1Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- 2Baoji Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Baoji, Shaanxi, China
- 3The Fifth Hospital of Xi’an City, Xi’an, China
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Background: The dietary supplement industry offers a wide range of orally consumed products that claim to combat skin photoaging, however, there is a lack of research on the proof of safety and effectiveness of dietary supplements in anti-skin photoaging. To further confirm their safety and efficacy, this article provides a detailed review and meta-analysis.Methods: Four databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library (Central Database), were searched for relevant literature up to October 2024. A total of forty Englishlanguage randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the relationship between dietary supplements and skin photoaging were screened for an in-depth review and meta-analysis.Results: Collagen, flavanols, and other polyphenol supplements have been found to alleviate skin photoaging and increase MED or overall skin elasticity (R2) when compared to a placebo. However, hyaluronic acid, lycopene, and carotenoids did not show any significant benefits in improving skin photoaging or MED/R2. Due to inconsistent findings and limited research, the effects of dietary supplements on skin photoaging could not be determined in randomized controlled trials with two or fewer studies. It is important to note that, during the study period (typically ≤ 24 weeks), all orally administered dietary supplements were found to be safe.Oral dietary supplements, such as collagen, flavanols, and polyphenols, have demonstrated effectiveness in addressing skin photoaging. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to support the recommendation of other dietary supplements, such as astaxanthin, for the treatment of skin photoaging. This research serves as an initial step in exploring the benefits of dietary supplements in combating skin photoaging. It underscores the need for more focused studies to further investigate the effects of dietary supplements on skin photoaging and gather additional evidence supporting their efficacy. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO (york.ac.uk) CRD42023472473
Keywords: Skin photoaging, dietary supplement, MED, R2, randomized controlled trials, metaanalysis
Received: 25 Feb 2025; Accepted: 23 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Li, Zhang, Ma, Zhang and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jingping Wu, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.