As many as 40% of people have sensitive skin and at least half of them suffer from pruritus associated with allergies, atopic dermatitis (AD), chronic urticaria (CU), cutaneous mastocytosis (CM), and psoriasis. Unfortunately, the available topical formulations contain antihistamines that are often not as effective as those containing corticosteroids. Certain natural flavonoids have anti-inflammatory actions. We recently reported that the natural flavonoid tetramethoxyluteolin has potent antiallergic and anti-inflammatory actions in vitro and in vivo. This flavonoid was formulated in a skin lotion along with olive fruit extract and was first tested for tolerability in 25 patients with mastocytosis or mast cell activation syndrome and very sensitive skin who reported back through a questionnaire. The skin lotion was then used by eight patients, four with AD and four with psoriasis, who had not received any topical treatment for at least 2 months, twice daily for 2 weeks. The use of this tetramethoxyluteolin formulation resulted in significant improvement of the skin lesions and could be useful adjuvant treatment for allergic and inflammatory skin conditions.
Keywords: allergy; atopic dermatitis; inflammation; luteolin; mast cells; psoriasis; tetramethoxyluteolin.