Hair Growth: Focus on Herbal Therapeutic Agent

Abstract

This review presents an overview on plants identified to possess hair growth activity in various ethno-botanical studies and surveys of tradition medicinal plants. It also highlights the developments in hair rejuvenation strategies from 1926 till-date and reviews the potential of herbal drugs as safer and effective alternatives. There are various causes for hair loss and the phenomenon is still not fully understood. The treatments offered include both natural or synthetic products to treat the condition of hair loss (alopecia), nonetheless natural products are continuously gaining popularity mainly due to their fewer side effects and better formulation strategies for natural product extracts. Plants have been widely used for hair growth promotion since ancient times as reported in Ayurveda, Chinese and Unani systems of medicine. This review covers information about different herbs and herbal formulation that are believed to be able to reduce the rate of hair loss and at the same time stimulate new hair growth. A focus is placed on their mechanism of action and the review also covers various isolated phytoconstituents possessing hair growth promoting effect.

Alternative Medicine for Hair Loss

“…The social and sexual communication roles of hair as well as its protective function have absolutely undeniable for both sexes for many years [1,2]. Although the loss of hair is not a life-threatening condition, the loss of hair at an early age or sudden onset hair loss may cause serious psychological distress, thus it may directly affect the quality of life negatively [1,3].…”

“…Although the loss of hair is not a life-threatening condition, the loss of hair at an early age or sudden onset hair loss may cause serious psychological distress, thus it may directly affect the quality of life negatively [1,3]. For this reason, patients with suffering from hair loss should be considered finically in order Similarly, using of CAM is quite often among patients suffering from dermatologic disorders such as acne, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, dermatophytes, actinic keratosis, vitiligo, hair loss, cosmetic indications, melanoma, and lupus erythematosus [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…In particular, minoxidil and finasteride are widely used for treating hair loss. But adverse effects of all of these agents have limited to their usage [1,2]. Hence, patients suffer from hair loss have begun to turn to alternative therapies, even though there is little scientific evidence to prove their effectiveness.…”

6-Gingerol inhibits hair cycle via induction of MMP2 and MMP9 expression

“…Emerging evidence has shown that compounds 2708 CHUN HOU et al isolated from the traditional herbal medicines, such as green tea (Pazyar et al 2012), the tuber fleece flower (Polygonum multiflorum Thunb.) (Fulwider et al 2007, Park et al 2012, and ginger (Zingiber officinale) (Pinski 2014), are capable of preventing hair loss and even promoting hair growth (Patel et al 2015, Sampath et al 2016.…”

Herbal Hair Gel Formulation having 5α-Reductase Inhibitory Activity and its Standardization by HPTLC

“…S. nigrum has been extensively used traditionally to treat various ailments. The berries of Solanum nigrum used as medicine for alopecia [3,4]. Linoleic acid is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid.…”