Ginger Extract Reduces Oxidative Stress and Improves the Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Alopecia Areata

Abstract

Alopecia areata is a common disorder of known autoimmune etiology and mostly treated with oral steroids to stimulate new hair growth with high chances of side effects. The present study was designed to assess the clinical significance of ginger in improving oxidative stress and reducing the dose of prednisolone in patients with alopecia. Forty patients (19 female and 21 male), with different lesions of stable localized on the scalp were enrolled in this pilot prospective open-label clinical study. Exclusion criteria include the use of any medication that may influence the course of the disease. The patients were allocated into two groups and treated with 500 mg of ginger powder once daily for 60 days with either 10 mg or 100 mg/day prednisolone tablets. Blood samples were obtained at zero time, day-30 and day-60 and utilized for the evaluation of the erythrocytes contents of reduced glutathione, and malondialdehyde. The change in body weight, incidence of acne and the hair loss were also monitored. The glutathione and malondialdehyde were compared with those of 20 healthy subjects served as control group. The results revealed that two-month treatment with ginger improved the rate of hair growth probably by attenuating free radicals-induced damage on immune system and addressed the possibility of reducing prednisolone dose from 100 mg to 10 mg administered each other day. In conclusion, the use of ginger may have a role in protecting radical-induced damage and decreasing side effects of high prednisolone dose in patients with alopecia areata.