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CompletedNCT05102604AvoSkinUpdated Nov 1, 2021

The Effect of Avocado vs. Usual Diet on Skin Aging

An interventional study of Avocado and Habitual diet in Skin Inflammation, sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 25 Years to 90 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-11-01.

Sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 7 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jan 2020, registered Aug 2021).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
25 Years to 90 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

This clinical trial aims to assess the effect of providing one avocado per day on skin health in comparison with a control group maintaining their habitual diets. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two equally sized groups. Both groups will be instructed to continue to follow their habitual diet but the intervention group will receive one avocado per day. Participants will be followed for outcomes for a four-month period.

Read the detailed description

This study will be a randomized, parallel group comparison of daily avocado consumption vs. habitual diet. The study will be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Human Subjects Protection Committee of the University of California, Los Angeles. All subjects will give written informed consent before the study begins.

At screening, informed consent and HIPAA authorization will be reviewed and signed. A medical history will be obtained. Enrollment will be reviewed by the study physician according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Skin type and response to UVB will be assessed.

At baseline, participants will undergo skin testing. Subjects will consume 1 avocado a day (Hass Avocado) or maintain habitual diet (up to 2 avocados/month) daily for 16 weeks. Skin will be assessed at weeks 0, 8 and 16. Each group will have 20 subjects as calculated by power analysis. Two additional subjects for each group will be recruited for possible dropouts and a total of 22 subjects will be recruited for each group.

02

Conditions studied

  • Skin Inflammation
03

In context

Dermatitis

1,435 studies on the registry are indexed under Dermatitis; 131 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 40 is below the median of 64 across 1,131 interventional studies indexed under Dermatitis.

Browse Dermatitis studies →

Lead sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles is the lead sponsor of 1,142 studies on the registry; 192 are open to participants now.

Of its 91 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 66 (73%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
25 Years to 90 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Female subjects
  • Increased waist circumference defined as ≥35 inches for women (NCEP ATP III 2005)
  • Women
  • At least 25 years old at screening
  • Not currently eating more than 2 avocados per month (habitual intake in U.S.)
  • Non-smokers
  • Fitzpatrick Skin type II-IV
  • Willing to maintain their normal skin care pattern for the duration of the study (avoiding excessive sun, not beginning new skin treatments)
  • Subjects must read and sign the Institutional Review Board-approved written informed consent prior to the initiation of any study specific procedures or enrollment

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Does not eat avocados
  • Sensitive / allergic to avocados
  • Allergies to latex or oral allergy syndrome
  • Not willing or unable to undergo MRI scans
  • Unstable medical condition such as on dialysis for renal disease, cardiac, gastrointestinal, or hepatic disease, cancer (non-melanoma skin cancer >5 years ago acceptable, any cancer site >10yrs without recurrence).
  • Pregnant, lactating, intention of pregnancy
  • Lost or gained 10 lbs of body weight in last year
  • Following restricted or weight loss dietary patterns
  • Subjects who cannot avoid excessive exposure to either natural or artificial sunlight.
  • Unstable anti-anxiety / anti-depressive / anti-psychotic medication use defined as dose change within last 6 months
  • Currently taking any prescription medications that increase the risk of photosensitivity or history of taking such medications in the less than 3 months (e.g. alpha-hydroxy acids in cosmetics, antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, levofloxacin, ofloxacin, tetracycline, trimethoprim), antifungals (flucytosine, griseofulvin, voricanozole), antihistamines (cetirizine, diphenhydramine, loratadine, promethazine, cyproheptadine), Accutane
  • Oral steroid use within the last 6 months longer than 7 days
  • Elevated alcohol intake (7+ drinks/week females; 14+ drinks/week males)
  • Participation in another clinical intervention trial within 30 days of baseline
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
40 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Avocado

    one avocado per day

    Other: Avocado

  • Placebo comparator
    Habitual Diet

    maintain habitual diet

    Other: Habitual diet

Interventions

  • OtherAvocado

    Subjects will eat one avocado in addition to their usual diet

  • OtherHabitual diet

    Subjects will eat their usual diet

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Minimal erythema

    Standardized inflammation will be induced by irradiating test areas on the inner arm of subjects with defined doses of narrow band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) light delivered by the Dermalight 90 handheld device (National Biological).

    Time frame: 16 weeks

  2. Skin Elasticity

    The Cutometer measures the vertical deformation of the skin in millimeters when the skin is pulled by means of a controlled vacuum into the circular aperture, 6mm in diameter, of the probe. In its standard configuration, the Cutometer is equipped with a measuring probe with a 2mm aperture because the device is originally designed to measure only the elastic properties of the epidermis. Skin hydration will measured using the moisture/hydration probe that attaches to the Cutometer. We will measure six sites: forehead, under the eye, frontal cheek, crow's foot, lateral cheek, and inner forearm.

    Time frame: 16 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Skin Type Classification

    Developed in 1975, the system classifies skin type according to the amount of pigment the skin has and the skin's reaction to sun exposure. This information can help predict your overall risk of sun damage and skin cancer.

    Time frame: 16 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • UCLA Center for Human Nutrition
    Los Angeles, California 90024, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 1, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05102604
Lead sponsor
University of California, Los Angeles
Collaborators
Hass Avocado Board
Responsible party
Zhaoping Li (Principal Investigator, University of California, Los Angeles) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 1, 2021
Start date
Jan 1, 2020
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2020
Completion
Dec 30, 2020
Last update
Nov 1, 2021

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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