VICENTE MICOL, PhD^1,2,*, ENRIQUE BARRAJÓN-CATALÁN, PhD^1,2, MARÍA HERRANZ, PhD^1,2
*Corresponding author
1. Miguel Hernández University (UMH), Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMC), Elche (Alicante), Spain
2. Ilice Effitech., UMH Scientific Park., Elche (Alicante), Spain
*Member of Agro FOOD industry hi-tech’s scientific advisory board Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

INTRODUCTION

In the last decade skin health and appearance is attracting increasing interest from both consumers and companies and is driving part of the nutraceutical sector. It is accepted that nutritional status and food intake influence skin condition either through microbiota modulation or the generation of metabolites which exert skin protection. Interestingly, the existence of the gut-skin axis has been postulated to explain the link between depression, anxiety and skin conditions such as acne (1).

Therefore, food and cosmetic industry are developing new strategies to establish the relation between nutrients consumption and skin health. Consequently, the use of food ingredients and supplements that claim to reduce the risk of skin disorders or alleviate skin aging is increasing (2). Dietary supplementation with vitamins, minerals or essential fatty acids has shown to improve skin condition (2).

Most of bioactive food compounds responsible for the positive effects on health are predominantly derived from plants while a few are derived from animal sources (3).

In 2009, the EU cosmetic legislation banned the ...