Hair growth-promoting effect of Geranium sibiricum extract in human dermal papilla cells and C57BL/6 mice

William A Boisvert,Sunghun Cho,Bog-Hieu Lee,Youngbin Choi,Sanghyun Lee,Changsun Choi,Yi-Lin Zhang,Gi Hee Jeong,Miri Yu

doi:10.1186/s12906-017-1624-4

Abstract

BackgroundGeranium sibiricum L. has been used as a medicinal plant to treat diarrhea, bacterial infection, and cancer in Bulgaria, Peru, and Korea. However, its hair growth-promoting effect was not investigated so far. This study examined the effects of Geranium sibiricum L. extract (GSE) on hair growth, using in vitro and in vivo models.MethodsAntioxidant, proliferation and migration assay of GSE was performed with human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs). Hair-growth promoting effect was measured in animal model. Relative expression of interleukin-1, vascular endothelial growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, and transforming growth factor beta 1 was determined by real time RT-PCR. Expression of Ki-67 and stem cell factor were analyzed by immunohistochemistry.ResultsGSE treatment proliferated and migrated human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs) more than treatment of 10 μM minoxidil. GSE significantly stimulated the expression of Ki-67 protein and the mRNA levels of hepatocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in hDPCs. Topical application of 1,000 ppm GSE for 3 weeks promoted more significant hair growth on shaved C57BL/6 mice than did 5% minoxidil. The histological morphology of hair follicles demonstrated an active anagen phase with the induction of stem cell factor. GSE treatment significantly reduced the number of mast cells and the expression of transforming growth factor beta 1 in mouse skin tissues.ConclusionsThese results demonstrated that GSE promotes hair growth in vitro and in vivo by regulating growth factors and the cellular response.

Highlights

Geranium sibiricum L. has been used as a medicinal plant to treat diarrhea, bacterial infection, and cancer in Bulgaria, Peru, and Korea
The contents of corilagin and gallic acid were determined as 47.33 ± 1.99 and 3.31 ± 0.33 mg/g of Geranium sibiricum L. extract (GSE), respectively (Fig. 1)
The results revealed that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA expression level of human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs) following treatment with GSE was significantly upregulated compared with negative control (NC) or positive control (PC) (p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Geranium sibiricum L. has been used as a medicinal plant to treat diarrhea, bacterial infection, and cancer in Bulgaria, Peru, and Korea. Minoxidil and finasteride are the only chemicals approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat hair loss [2,3,4]. Both these chemicals have serious adverse effects such as weight gain, edema, angina pectoris, and hypogonadism. The systemic biological response of the organism to stressor induces stress response through activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) by proinflammatory cytokines to increase circulating. The growing body of evidence supports that a wide range of neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, and neurohormones modulating systemic stress responses can alter hair growth, indicating that hair follicles represent an important target for stressors [8]

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