ArticleThe Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology2025
What Are Topical Adaptogens? A Systematic Review and Proposed System to Identify and Categorize Skin Adaptogens in Dermatology.
Article in The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- System-Level, Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Selected Plant Adaptogens-A Review.Nutrients · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSkin adaptogens are a class of active ingredients that can enhance human adaptation by reducing the deleterious effects of intrinsic and extrinsic stressors. Adaptogens' homeostatic actions enhance the skin's resilience, improving skin health and quality. Most of the investigated and identified adaptogens are botanicals and have relevant applications in dermatology, but their precise mechanism of action (MOA) and classification are yet to be determined.
methodsArticles related to botanical adaptogens published within the last 20 years were obtained from the Ovid, Cochrane, and PubMed databases. Studies had to include botanicals studied topically on the skin and classified as adaptogens in the paper. The systematic search resulted in 643 articles, and after the selection process, 12 studies were chosen for the systematic review.
resultsTwelve scientific papers identified 29 topical adaptogens with capabilities of promoting skin health and cosmesis via homeostatic mechanisms. These papers reviewed the effects of topical adaptogens on photodamage, photoaging, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, inflammation, metabolic activity, hormones, and regenerative effects. We propose an identification and classification system of topical adaptogens. We also list currently identified topical adaptogens in the literature and propose other potential cutaneous adaptogens.
conclusionWe have identified 29 skin adaptogens and categorized them based on their MOA: safe, homeostatic, and multitargeted. We propose this classification system as a guide to identify and catalog topical adaptogens in dermatology.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41416238PMC12710873What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.