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This paper offers a review of the published research relating to the use of polyphenols to treat rosacea symptoms. The papers’ authors undertook a literature review to find which members of the polyphenol family offer proven efficacy when treating rosacea symptoms.
Polyphenols comprise a very large number of compounds – for eg. their members can be found in green tea, ginger, red wine, olives, blackcurrants and many more. Thus it can be quite a task to properly answer the question of which polyphenols are best suited to offering treatment options to rosacea sufferers.
At best, the published research was found to only able to confirm that polyphenols may offer some relief for the redness and papules and pustules of rosacea. Like many of these sorts of papers, they end with the slightly frustrating conclusion that `more research is needed’.
Rosacea News has previously covered theses plant based treatments for rosacea here: Golden Chamomile, Quassia Amara, Silymarin and Licochalcone A as well as articles on Green Tea.
Article Abstract
The Role of Polyphenols in Rosacea Treatment: A Systematic Review
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. June 2017, ahead of print
Objectives: Various treatment options are available for the management of rosacea symptoms such as facial erythema, telangiectasia, papules and pustules, burning, stinging, and itching. Botanical therapies are commonly used to treat the symptoms. The objective of this review is to evaluate the use of polyphenols in rosacea treatment.
Design: PubMed, Embase, Biosis, Web of Knowledge, and Scopus databases were systematically searched for clinical studies evaluating polyphenols in the management of rosacea.
Results: Of 814 citations, 6 met the inclusion criteria. The studies evaluated licochalcone (n = 2), silymarin (n = 2), Crysanthellum indicum extract (n = 1), and quassia extract (n = 1). The studies only evaluated topical formations of stated polyphenols. Main results were summarized.
Conclusions: There is evidence that polyphenols may be beneficial for the treatment of rosacea symptoms.
Polyphenols appear to be most effective at reducing facial erythema and papule and pustule counts.
However, studies included have significant methodological limitations and therefore large-scale, randomized, placebo-controlled trials are warranted to further assess the efficacy and safety of polyphenols in the treatment of rosacea.
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Do you put the polyphenols (green tea etc.) on your skin or drink them?
I recently heard that coffee helps to reduce inflammation and coffee also contains polyphenols. So I started drinking decaf coffee about two weeks ago. So far my flushing and burning have subsided considerably. I’m going to continue to drink a cup a day of decaf and see if this helps. I know rosacea remedies very from person to person, but maybe this might help a few people.
I was an avid customer of an olive oil and vinegar boutique that opened in my city. Because I loved the products so much, as well as cooking, I later became an employee for four years. During that time, I developed PPR along with redness and swelling and was given metro cream and oracea. But, my symptoms progressed and my skin and eyes were just angry. I couldn’t find a moisturizer that didn’t make my symptoms worse. Out of desperation, I began using olive oil with the highest polyphenol count that we carried…typically between 400 and 500. I used it as a makeup remover and as a moisturizer. The results were almost immediate. People thought I was crazy but my skin responded and my eyes stopped swelling and tearing constantly. I still get the occasional pustule around my mouth or nose but it’s a far cry from how bad my skin looked before I started using the olive oil. I keep a bottle in my bathroom vanity at all times!
I have been using a serum called Reprieve, made by the Rosacea Treatment Clinic in Melbourne. It is based on polyphenols and is used to reduce the inflammation and ageing of the skin caused by rosacea. I have been using this serum since late last year and have noticed that my skin is calmer. I combine this serum with other products and regular Laser Genesis treatments so it isn’t possible to isolate the individual impact it has had on my skin. However, based on my experience, the effective treatment of rosacea requires a combination of products, treatments and lifestyle changes to achieve lasting results. I will continue to use Reprieve as I believe it has had a positive impact on my skin when combined with the other elements of my rosacea treatment regime.