Dry eye disease is a multifactorial pathology compromising the quality of life of patients, resulting in significant damage of the ocular surface and discomfort. The current therapeutical strategies are not able to definitively resolve the underlying causes and stop the symptoms. Polyphenols are promising natural molecules that are receiving increasing attention for their activity/effects in counteracting the main pathologic mechanisms of dry eye disease and reducing its symptoms. In the present review, a deep literature search focusing on the main polyphenols tested against dry eye disease was conducted, analyzing related in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies to provide a comprehensive and current review on the state of the art. Polyphenols present multiple effects against dry eye diseases-related ocular surface injury. In particular, the observed beneficial effects of polyphenols on corneal cells are the reduction of the pathological processes of inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis and modulation of the tear film. Due to numerous studies reporting that polyphenols are effective and safe for treating the pathological mechanisms of this ocular surface disease, we believe that future studies should confirm and extend the evidence of polyphenols efficacy in clinical practice against dry eye disease and help to develop new ophthalmic drug(s).
Keywords: antioxidants; dry eye disease; epithelial corneal cells; inflammation; polyphenols.