Hair Growth Promoting Effect of Dicerocaryum senecioides Phytochemicals

Feature-Based Molecular Networks Identification of Bioactive Metabolites from Three Plants of the Polynesian Cosmetopoeia Targeting the Dermal Papilla Cells of the Hair Cycle

The term cosmetopoeia refers to the use of plants in folks’ cosmetics. The aerial parts of Bidens pilosa L., the leaves of Calophyllum inophyllum L. and the fruits of Fagraea berteroana A.Gray ex Benth are traditionally used in French Polynesia for hair and skin care. During the hair cycle, dermal papilla cells and their interaction with epithelial cells are essential to promote hair follicle elongation. The aim of our investigations was the identification of metabolites from these three plants and chemical families responsible for their hair growth activity. A bioactivity-based molecular network was produced by mapping the correlation between features obtained from LC-MS/MS data and dermal papilla cell proliferation, using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The analyses pointed out glycosylated flavonols and phenolic acids from B. pilosa and C. inophyllum, along with C-flavonoids, iridoids and secoiridoids from F. berteroana, as potential bioactive molecules involved in the proliferation of hair follicle dermal papilla cells. Our results highlight the metabolites of the plant species potentially involved in the induction of hair follicle growth and support the traditional uses of these plants in hair care.

Antioxidant extracts from Dicerocaryum senecioides as active ingredients in semi-permanents and hair conditioners

BACKGROUND

Different hair types respond differently to cosmetic treatments; hence, many options ought to be availed to the consumer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of antioxidant extract from Dicerocaryum senecioides as active alternatives in hair semi-permanent waving and hair conditioning.

METHODS

The antioxidant phytochemicals were first identified and isolated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and spraying with revealing agents. The antioxidant potency was determined by DPPH antiradical scavenging and ferric reducing power methods. The extract was incorporated in two different formulations to make the extract perm (bio-semi-permanent) and the antioxidant hair conditioner (AC). The formulations had their performance examined for hair curling and conditioning on Asian and African hair types. Hair damage was assessed by scanning the surface of treated samples on an attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (ATR-FTIR) and by quantifying lost protein on ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer.

RESULTS

The extract antioxidant had an IC₅₀ of 26.54 ± 0.34 µg/ml exhibiting greater antioxidant potency compared to the controls quercetin (38.84 ± 0.12 µg/ml) and ascorbic acid (35.22 ± 0.07 µg/ml). The extract perm had a lower curling ability indicated by a perm set of 85.10 ± 3.92% and 81.35 ± 2.35% for Asian and African hairs, respectively, while commercial product, ammonium thioglycolate (ATG) had 96.05 ± 1.70% and 93.60 ± 2.21% for the same. The curling of hair with extract perm resulted in less oxidative damage with oxidative peak areas of 3.37 ± 0.09 and 3.71 ± 0.03 as well as lower protein losses of 4.72 ± 0.71 µg/mg and 5.62 ± 0.70 µg/mg on Asian and African hair samples, respectively. The application of AC reduced the oxidative damage peak areas of ATG and extract perm treated Asian hair samples by 1.15 and 0.48 units, respectively. AC was also effective in reducing damage caused by UV radiation on ATG-treated samples by 1.06 units (African hair) and 1.09 units on Asian hair.

CONCLUSION

The results show antioxidant extracts from Dicerocryum senecioides as a promising and safer alternative for hair conditioning and semi-permanent curling.

Anti-Inflammatory, Thrombolytic and Hair-Growth Promoting Activity of the n-Hexane Fraction of the Methanol Extract of Leea indica Leaves

The anti-inflammatory, thrombolytic, and hair growth-promoting activity of the n-hexane fraction from the methanol extract of Leea indica (NFLI) leaves was investigated. NFLI showed significant inhibition of hemolysis and protein denaturation, and exhibited a concentration-dependent thrombolytic activity. When applied topically to mice at concentrations of 10, 1, 0.1%, NFLI demonstrated a significant increase in average hair length (p < 0.001) compared with untreated animals. NFLI (1% concentration) exhibited the highest percentage of hair regrowth on day 7, 14 and 21 (81.24, 65.60, and 62.5%, respectively). An in silico study was further conducted to predict the binding affinity of phytochemicals previously reported in L. indica towards PGD₂ synthase (PDB ID: 2VD1), an enzyme that catalyses the isomerisation of prostaglandin H₂ to PGD₂ which is involved in hair loss. Phthalic acid, farnesol, n-tricosane, n-tetracosane, and n-heptacosane showed the best ligand efficiencies towards PGD₂ synthase and their intermolecular interactions were visualised using BIOVIA Discovery Studio Visualizer. Our results indicate that L. indica could represent a promising natural alternative to tackle alopecia.

Dermal exosomes containing miR-218-5p promote hair regeneration by regulating β-catenin signaling

The progression in the hair follicle cycle from the telogen to the anagen phase is the key to regulating hair regrowth. Dermal papilla (DP) cells support hair growth and regulate the hair cycle. However, they gradually lose key inductive properties upon culture. DP cells can partially restore their capacity to promote hair regrowth after being subjected to spheroid culture. In this study, results revealed that DP spheroids are effective at inducing the progression of the hair follicle cycle from telogen to anagen compared with just DP cell or minoxidil treatment. Because of the importance of paracrine signaling in this process, secretome and exosomes were isolated from DP cell culture, and their therapeutic efficacies were investigated. We demonstrated that miR-218-5p was notably up-regulated in DP spheroid-derived exosomes. Western blot and immunofluorescence imaging were used to demonstrate that DP spheroid-derived exosomes up-regulated β-catenin, promoting the development of hair follicles.