Could eating mangoes erase wrinkles? These UC Davis scientists want to find out
Hold off on the face masks and Botox injections. A group of UC Davis scientists think the cure to wrinkly skin might be as simple as eating a tropical fruit.
A study in the university’s dermatology and nutrition departments is testing the effect a mango-rich diet has on facial wrinkles and redness in postmenopausal women ages 50 to 70.
It’s the next step after a Korean Institute of Oriental Medicine study found hairless mice that ate mango extract had less skin damage from sun exposure than their control group brethren. Mango extract appeared to block typical UV-B symptoms, including wrinkles, thickening skin and loss of collagen fiber in the mice, the study concluded.
UC Davis nutritional biology Ph.D. student Vivien Fam, the study coordinator, will chop, weigh, freeze and distribute roughly 3,000 pounds of ataulfo mangoes to the study’s 40 human subjects. The women, nine of whom have already been selected, will also receive $240.
“We all know dietary guidelines ask us to eat at least two cups of fruit per day for general health, but so many people ask ‘what should I eat for this condition or if my skin looks like this?’” Fam said. “If there is data that shows eating (mangoes) could be good for your skin, that would make it so much clearer.”
Participants must eat their mangoes four times per week for 16 weeks and meet UC Davis scientists at the Ragle Human Nutrition Research Center five times during that period for facial photographs as well as stool, blood and skin samples.
Women must have Fitzpatrick skin types I, II or III (defined by Healthline as ivory, pale and fair-to-beige before sun exposure) to qualify for the study. They must also be in general good health with a BMI between 18.5 and 35, not take any medication and avoid using skincare products aside from sunscreen and moisturizer throughout the 16-week experiment.
The tropical fruit is having a moment in the sun as a superfood. A pair of recent Texas A&M University studies inidicated that eating mangoes consistently could combat gut issues such as chronic constipation and mild-to-moderate inflamatory bowel disease.
If Fam’s hypothesis is proven correct, another experiment would be needed to identify the element within mangoes that reduces wrinkles, she said.
The USDA’s National Mango Board supplied grant money and will provide all fruit for UC Davis’ study. Click here to apply.
This story was originally published October 15, 2018 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Could eating mangoes erase wrinkles? These UC Davis scientists want to find out."