A component of the aromatic spice cinnamon causes hair follicles to sprout in the lab, and researchers are now developing a new treatment using natural compounds to reverse hair loss.
Our hair is a marker of beauty, pride, and health that is essential to our identity and how we are perceived by others. Conversely, hair loss can cause significant mental strain and reduce quality of life.
Hair regeneration treatments are limited to either surgical (hair transplantation) or non-surgical (drug) methods. It’s no surprise, then, that finding new, preferably non-invasive hair loss treatments is high on some researchers’ lists. Researchers at Japan’s Yokohama National University (YNU) are hoping that cinnamon is a much-needed new treatment.
They have previously discovered that the so-called “love hormone” oxytocin promotes hair growth by upregulating genes within dermal papilla cells that play an important role in hair formation, growth, and the hair cycle. was. However, the problem with administering oxytocin through the skin to activate this hair growth pathway is that the molecule of oxytocin is relatively large, which hinders its absorption.
Enter cinnamon, or more precisely cinnamic acid from cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia). Cinnamon is already known to have a wide range of health benefits, including anti-aging effects on the skin, and was recently discovered to increase skin elasticity through its effects on oxytocin receptors. Cinnamic acid, which is widely used in cosmetics, is only a fraction of the molecular weight of oxytocin.
Researchers evaluated the effects of cinnamic acid on the expression of oxytocin and hair growth-related genes. Dermal papilla cells were cultured with different cinnamic acid concentrations ranging from 0 to 2,000 μg/mL. Cell damage was observed at concentrations of 1,000 and 2,000 μg/mL, and cell proliferation was significantly inhibited above 500 μg/mL. However, at concentrations below 500 μg/mL, a dose-dependent increase in the expression of genes related to oxytocin and hair growth was observed.
Treatment of hair follicle organoids with cinnamic acid treatment extended germination length, suggesting that this treatment promoted hair growth
Kageyama et al.
Human hair follicle organoids (‘folloids’) capable of regenerating hair shafts have been developed. By using organoids, which are essentially miniaturized organs, researchers were able to expose a variety of cells to cinnamic acid treatment at the same time, yielding larger and more reliable data. They tested concentrations of 0, 50, 100, and 500 μg/mL on follicles for up to 10 days. The results showed a significant increase in hair germination length by day 8 at concentrations of 100 and 500 µg/mL, suggesting that the optimal concentration lies somewhere in that range.
The effect of oxytocin on hair growth was increased by 1.3 times, while cinnamic acid produced a comparable increase of 1.25 times.
“The identification of cinnamic acid as a specific ingredient with hair growth-promoting properties holds great promise for increasing the effectiveness of hair growth products,” said YNU Faculty of Engineering Associate Professor, lead author of the study. Professor Tatsuto Kageyama said. “Furthermore, new understanding of the mechanism of oxytocin signaling-mediated hair growth promoting effects will bring new insights to hair care science and accelerate the search for new drugs targeting oxytocin receptor expression in the drug discovery field. It will be helpful.”
At this point, there is no benefit to buying cinnamon in bulk. Future research will focus on experiments in depilated mice to determine the effectiveness of dermal administration of cinnamic acid, the required dosage, and whether side effects occur.
However, if you want to perform your own test at home, cinnamic acid is also found in citrus fruits, grapes, cocoa, spinach, celery, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, and kale. Masu. , Turnip.
The study was published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.
Source: YNU (via EurekAlert)!
