Background: Recently, an increasing number of people are striving to use products, which prevent visible changes in the skin caused by aging. There is also a growing interest in using effective natural cosmetic ingredients, so incorporating natural antioxidants into skin care cosmetics is a very attractive area. The research and use of less established antioxidants such as melatonin represents the future of the cosmetics industry, as it is always striving for progress in development according to current trends and consumer needs. Melatonin is an amphiphilic molecule, so it crosses the skin barrier and can act in the deeper layers of the skin. It acts as a reducing agent, which means that it oxidizes itself, thereby reducing the extent of oxidation of compounds with lower redox potential and thus creating the occurrence of oxidative damage in cellular structures.
Methods: For a more systematic review of the literature, we followed the Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols guidelines. We used pre-defined search strings to find relevant scientific articles. We searched for scientific articles in the PubMed and Web of Science databases and excluded those that did not match all the given criteria. We examined the most relevant scientific articles and compared their findings.
Results: Following the guidelines and considering all the criteria, our final selection included 11 scientific articles. We analyzed 9 studies and 2 review articles, then we summed up review articles and the main features of the studies in the tables. The content of the review articles included a general description of melatonin and its mechanism of action, and studies evaluated the effect of dermal application of melatonin in protecting the skin from UV radiation.
Conclusion: Dermal application of melatonin protects the skin from damage caused by UVradiation. Melatonin reduces the formation of oxygen reactive substances and increases the production of extracellular proteins. In combination with UV filters and other antioxidants in cosmetic products, it acts synergistically, as its antioxidant action also protects other ingredients from oxidation.
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