Please read this previous thread for info before commenting:

I am confident, after years of dealing with acne that there is one fundamental difference between acne sufferers and those with clear skin. But this idea doesn't dismiss the fact that acne is multifactorial and I am not dismissing healthy eating, exercise, antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide, etc. I believe that all the different manners of treating acne work by affecting one thing but in different ways. I thought at one point that it was DHT, a more potent form of testosterone. Many of you may have read this thread entitled, DHT the sole creator of acne:

While I do believe that DHT contributes to acne, I don't think it is what we should be focusing on. I personally use borage oil with lecithin to keep my acne under control. The mechanism here is GLA which inhibits DHT production. But this hasn't cleared my acne completely. I also only masturbate at most twice a week because I know that excessive masturbation/sexual activity can exacerbate acne.

My newest theory is that the production of superoxide anions triggers acne. Superoxide dismutase is a "scavenger" of superoxide anions, meaning it destroys the superoxide anions. Either acne sufferers don't produce enough superoxide dismutase in the skin, or we produce too much superoxide anions.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2709429/?tool=pubmed

Vitamin E potently reduces superoxide anion when applied topically. THis may explain why so many benefit from Vitamin E oil. I did a bit of researching and found that there are 8 different isomers of Vitamin E; alpha, beta, gamma, & delta tocopherols and alpha, beta, gamma, & delta tocotrienols. Most vitamin E's sold are of the tocopherol kind. I found out that the tocotrienol forms are generally higher in antioxidant power:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009912099000272

Recently I have applied a full spectrum vitamin E capsule topically making sure to get a significant source of tocotrienols. I do so before bed each night because it leaves my face red during the day. This helped my situation so I continued to research and found this abstract:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16972004

It basically states that a certain plant known as Chinese Knotweed, Fo-Ti, Fallopia Multiflora, or Polygonum Multiflorum, strongly inhibits the destruction of SOD1. I forgot to mention that SOD1 is superoxide dismutase in its zinc form. The zinc form is the one related to acne. I went to chinatown and found Fo-Ti for very cheap. Its in a pill form which I crush up. I make a mixture with it along with vitamin e from my capsule, some water, and a little bit of hemp oil. I always use hemp oil as it is non comedogenic and has always helped me. These two things together have been tremendously helpful.

The reason I am posting this is to share my knowledge but also to ask for help from fellow acne researchers. I have had, at many points, severe acne. I wasn't able to leave my room in fear of being seen in public. I skipped classes, have missed countless social opportunities, and become severely depressed. Acne holds me back from the person that I want to be and I know when I have a clear face and body, I will embrace life in all its glory. I have tried all diets ranging from sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, raw, vegan, vegetarian, paleo, and wai. I have supplemented with green tea, resveratrol, magnesium, vitamin d, fish oil, iodine, chromium, cinnamon, the list is too long.

I am trying to find one extract, oil, herb, drug, or vitamin that can be ingested or applied topically that treats my acne by either effectively increasing zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) or inhibiting the production of superoxide anions and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the skin.

So far Fo-Ti and Vitamin E work but not well enough. I want to see if anyone wants to help me out on this theory of mine. Fo-Ti isn't the best solution because its very dark to apply on the skin and you must leave it on, vitamin E makes my skin bright red, and I still have acne.

Here are some promising abstracts/studies involving the antioxidant activities of certain herbs/drugs/vitamins/extracts. I would appreciate it if someone helped by trying one of these and documenting your successes/failures here.

Cocoa polyphenols inhibit phorbol ester-induced superoxide anion formation in cultured HL-60 cells and expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and activation of NF-kappaB and MAPKs in mouse skin in vivo.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16614396

"The levels of COX-2 expression induced in mouse skin after 4-h treatment with topical TPA (10 nmol) was also diminished significantly by pretreating CP (40 or 200 mg/kg) for 30 min."

Changes in Zinc Levels

and Superoxide Dismutase Activities in the Skin of Acute, Ultraviolet-B- Irradiated Mice After Treatment With Ginkgo Biloba Extract

http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1385%2FBTER%3A80%3A2%3A175.pdf

"The Zn levels changed in the same pattern as the SOD activity values. "

Resveratrol reduces endothelial oxidative stress by modulating the gene expression of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) and NADPH oxidase subunit (Nox4).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20083859

"The same resveratrol regimen upregulated the mRNA expression of SOD1 and GPx1."

Ozonized sunflower oil reduces oxidative damage induced by indomethacin in rat gastric mucosa http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00011-007-7034-1?LI=true "It was concluded that cytoprotective effects of OSO in rat gastric mucosa are mediated at least partially by upregulation of the antioxidant system and mainly SOD."

Benzyl isothiocyanate inhibits excessive superoxide generation in inflammatory leukocytes: implication for prevention against inflammation-related carcinogenesis

http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/4/567.full.pdf

"We demonstrated for the first time that the pre-treatment with BITC 40 min prior to each TPA treatment significantly inhibited the number of papillomas per mouse. "

Highly galloylated tannin fractions from witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) bark: electron transfer capacity, in vitro antioxidant activity, and effects on skin-related cells.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18311930

"...we hypothesize that the final putative antioxidant effect of polyphenols may be in part attributed to the stimulation of defense systems by mild prooxidant challenges provided by reactive oxygen species generated through redox cycling."

Sesamol inhibits UVB-induced ROS generation and subsequent oxidative damage in cultured human skin dermal fibroblasts.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20697726

"On the other hand, sesamol pretreatment significantly decreased cytotoxicity, intracellular ROS, lipid peroxidation, oxidative DNA damage and apoptotic morphological changes in sesamol-pretreated and UVB-irradiated HDFa cells."

Genistein protects against UVB-induced senescence-like characteristics in human dermal fibroblast by p66Shc down-regulation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20211546

" Genistein exerted dramatically protective effects on HDFs in a dose-dependent mannerz"