Study || Antioxidants from Artichoke and Rice Reduce UV Damage of the Hair

Extracts of artichoke and rice to protect our hair from sun damage?  While researching information for a different post, I came across a study which addresses this topic.

"Natural antioxidants obtained from artichoke and rice applied to pretreated hair improved mechanical properties and preserved colour and shine of fibres, coating them and protecting them against UV. .... Furthermore, the lipidic peroxidation of the protein degradation caused by UV was reduced for some treated fibres, suggesting an improvement in fibre integrity. "

Interesting, huh!  Here are some notes I made detailing some of the findings a bit further:

The rice extract was better at preserving the hair's tensile strength.  (It is believed that this is because "the rice extract has biofunctional peptides with high substantivity for keratin".  These peptides can "penetrate and protect the hair from the inside".) 

Both artichoke and rice extracts protected the hair from protein degradation.  The artichoke extract showed a higher protection, "probably due to the strong antioxidants such as hydroxycinnamic derivatives in the extract." 

Both artichoke and rice extracts protected the hair from UVB damage, with the rice extract providing more protection possibly due its composition. Rice extract contains phytic acid antioxidant and medium molecular weight peptides that "may form a protective layer on the hair's surface."

Etc. 

To read more details on the study, check out the full article (only abstract is available below)!

SOURCE
EFFICACY OF ANTIOXIDANTS IN HUMAN HAIR (2012)