Protective effect evaluation of free radical scavengers on UVB induced human cutaneous erythema by skin reflectance spectrophotometry

Synopsis This paper assesses the suitability of UVB induced skin erythema measured by reflectance spectrophotometry in humans as a model for differentiating topical efficacy of free radical scavengers. Two different formulations (aqueous gels and O/W emulsions) of each active compound (tocopherol, tocopherol acetate, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione, ascorbyl palmitate) were tested on healthy human volunteers before and after skin exposure to UVB radiation. Skin erythema was monitored by calculating erythema index values from the skin spectral data obtained using a reflectance spectrophotometer. The free radical scavengers tested were not able to inhibit UVB induced skin erythema from both formulations when they were topically applied before UVB irradiation. Applying the free radical scavenger formulations after skin exposure to UVB radiation, glutathione and SOD showed the best ability in inhibiting the induced erythema (percentage inhibition 53.3 and 41.6%, respectively from gels). Tocopherol and tocopherol acetate inhibited UVB skin erythema by 27% while ascorbyl palmitate showed a poor efficacy. For all the active compounds tested, no significant difference was observed comparing the results obtained from gels to those from emulsions. Liposomal gel formulations containing the free radical scavengers which showed the best activity (SOD and glutathione) were prepared and topically applied after skin exposure to UVB radiation. SOD and glutathione liposomal formulations were more effective than the corresponding conventional gels. The proposed model, if validated by further studies, could be useful for differentiating the effectiveness of free radical scavengers in inhibiting photoaging due to long‐term sunlight skin exposure.