The most recent comprehensive synthesis is a July 2025 systematic review in the HSS Journal , the musculoskeletal journal of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, led by Nikhil Vasireddi at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
*Antioxidants alone will not be effective in the majority of melasma cases
The protein thioredoxin, together with TXNRD1 (or TXNRD3), NADPH, and FAD, constitute the thioredoxin antioxidant system involved in the reduction of antioxidant enzymes (e.g., peroxiredoxins, methionine sulfoxide reductases, and ribonucleotide reductase) and of many oxidation/reduction (redox)-sensitive signaling proteins (9)
The vitamin is absorbed in two ways: Active through a special transport molecule (intrinsic factor) saturated at approximately 1.5g per dose/meal Passive through vitamin B12 that passes through the intestinal wall without a transport molecule maximum 1% of the supplied dosage The real intake is calculated through the combination of these two mechanisms
But there are nuances worth knowing
For people with normal homocysteine levels (e.g., between 7-8), adding folic acid doesnt statistically lower their homocysteine levels.[ref] When researchers compared adding more folate-rich foods (+350 mcg/day of folate) with a folic acid supplement (250 mcg/day of folic acid), they found that both groups had similar decreases in homocysteine.[ref] Who will this work best for