Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) is an enzyme that carries out a profound antioxidant action to combat free radicals. SOD is in fact a real defense system against damage caused by ROS (free radicals), they are chemical species of high reactivity and instability. ROS have the ability to react with various molecules they come into contact with and their whose danger consists in damaging important cellular components such as: lipids, proteins, DNA.
Pollution, smoking, poor nutrition attack the body's cells every day, increasing the production of free radicals. Since the skin is the first barrier to exogenous threats, such as exposure to UV rays, chemicals and pathogens, an adequate strategy to prevent oxidative stress is necessary.
Restoring the skin's natural antioxidant balance is very important to keep the skin healthy and delay cellular aging as much as possible.
Over the years, various hypotheses have been formulated to explain cellular aging. Aging is a complex and multifactorial process, but the most accredited theory is that of "oxidative stress", due to an accumulation of free radicals, i.e. an imbalance between the production of oxygen free radicals (ROS) and the defense activity of antioxidant systems. Antioxidant defense systems, the so-called antioxidants, they are made up of enzymatic substances (such as the Glutathione complex and Super Oxide Dismutase) and non-enzymatic compounds such as vitamins A, C, E, and polyphenols (flavonoids, procyanidins).
The radical theory, formulated by Harman already in 1956, and subsequently supported by numerous observations, maintains that aging is the product of a series of oxidative reactions of a radical nature (no longer balanced by an efficient antioxidant system) capable of accelerating the degradation of biological systems.
Longevity would therefore depend on the efficiency of antioxidant protection systems
In a recent review of all studies conducted on SOD published in Nutrafoods in 2014: The role of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in skin disorders
Sébastien Le Quéré, Dominique Lacan, Benoit Lemaire, Julie Carillon, Karine Schmitt
The antioxidant power of Superoxide Dismutase in skin disorders was investigated.
The review confirms that SOD is able to prevent and soothe skin inflammation, counteract photo-aging and combat some secondary effects due to inflammatory processes such as fibrosis, psoriasis and vitiligo.
The analysis confirmed SOD as an excellent antioxidant, a true ally in the fight against skin aging.