As part of a two-phase study, scientists at the University of Otago, Faculty of Medicine—Christchurch Ōtautahi have found a relationship between the amount of vitamin C people consumed and how well their skin thickened. Results show that vitamin c, when ingested, and not just applied topically, measurably improved skin health.

In phase one, scientists examined the relationship between blood plasma and skin vitamin C levels using healthy skin tissue from patients undergoing elective surgical procedures at Te Whatu Ora Canterbury (with support from the Otago campus’s He Taonga Tapu – Canterbury Cancer Society Tissue Bank).

In the second phase, participants were located in both Christchurch and Germany. In this controlled study, Scientists at the University of Otago, Faculty of Medicine – Christchurch Ōtautahi monitored 12 healthy adults who ate two vitamin C-rich SunGold kiwifruit each day for eight weeks.

By the end of the study, participants’ skin showed a positive increase in vitamin C. The increase was associated with thicker skin (collagen production) and greater renewal of the outer skin layer. The findings are important in that it shows that skin health responds favorably to dietary vitamin C and not just topical treatments.

Vitamin C is known is known as essential for collagen production and is commonly added to skincare products. However, vitamin C is water soluble and has difficulty penetrating the outer skin barrier.

The study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology showed that vitamin c can be efficiently absorbed from the blood and could potentially specifically target the outer epidermal layer first.

For more information, visit www.otago.ac.nz.

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