The Hair Growth-Promoting Effect of Rumex japonicus Houtt. Extract

Rumex japonicus Houtt. is traditionally used as a medicinal plant to treat patients suffering from skin disease in Korea. However, the beneficial effect of Rumex japonicus Houtt. on hair growth has not been thoroughly examined. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the hair growth-promoti...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hyunkyoung Lee, Na-Hyun Kim, Hyeryeon Yang, Seong Kyeong Bae, Yunwi Heo, Indu Choudhary, Young Chul Kwon, Jae Kuk Byun, Hyeong Jun Yim, Byung Seung Noh, Jeong-Doo Heo, Euikyung Kim, Changkeun Kang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
Series:Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/1873746
Description
Summary:Rumex japonicus Houtt. is traditionally used as a medicinal plant to treat patients suffering from skin disease in Korea. However, the beneficial effect of Rumex japonicus Houtt. on hair growth has not been thoroughly examined. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the hair growth-promoting effect of Rumex japonicus (RJ) Houtt. root extract using human dermal papilla cells (DPCs), HaCaT cells, and C57BL/6 mice model. RJ induced antiapoptotic and proliferative effects on DPCs and HaCaT cells by increasing Bcl-2/Bax ratio and activating cellular proliferation-related proteins, ERK and Akt. RJ also increased β-catenin via the inhibition of GSK-3β. In C57BL/6 mice model, RJ promoted the anagen induction and maintained its period. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated that RJ upregulated Ki-67 and β-catenin expressions, suggesting that the hair growth effect of RJ may be mediated through the reinforcement of hair cell proliferation. These results provided important insights for the possible mechanism of action of RJ and its potential as therapeutic agent to promote hair growth.
ISSN:1741-427X
1741-4288