Could Grapes Help Fight Acne?

Resveratrol, the antioxidant found from grapes and red wine often associated with heart health, also helps stop the growth of acne-causing bacteria, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the University of Southern California Los Angeles (UCLA) discovered that by combining resveratrol with benzoyl peroxide—an oxidant commonly used to treat acne—they might be able to heighten the drug’s bacteria-eliminating capabilities.
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“We initially thought that since actions of the two compounds are opposing, the combination should cancel the other out, but they didn’t,” said Emma Taylor, MD, the study’s lead author and an assistant clinical professor of medicine in the division of dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

For the study, investigators grew cultures of acne bacteria, exposing them to different concentrations of benzoyl peroxide and resveratrol.  While all concentrations of benzoyl peroxide were able to eliminate the bacteria, resveratrol showed that it was able to inhibit the grown of the bacteria over time.

“This study demonstrates that combining an oxidant and an antioxidant may enhance each other and help sustain bacteria-fighting activity over a longer period of time,” she said.

They also found that by combining the 2 substances, they were able to lower the normally high toxicity of benzoyl peroxide, alleviating some of the skin-irritating effects of the drug.

The complete study is published in the September issue of Dermatology and Therapy.

-Michelle Canales

References:

Taylor EJM, Yu Y, Champer J, Kim J. Resveratrol demonstrates antimicrobial effects against propionibacterium acnes in vitro. Dermatol Ther. 2014 Oct [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1007/s13555-014-0063-0.

UCLA Newsroom. Antioxidant found in grapes uncorks new targets for acne treatment. September 30, 2014. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/antioxidant-found-in-grapes-uncorks-new-targets-for-acne-treatment. Accessed October 6, 2014.