title: Enhancement of Human Hair Growth Using Ecklonia cava Polyphenols.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ecklonia cava is a brown alga that contains various compounds, including carotenoids, fucoidans, and phlorotannins. E. cava polyphenols (ECPs) are known to increase fibroblast survival. The human dermal papilla cell (hDPC) has the properties of mesenchymal-origin fibroblasts.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to investigate the effect of ECPs on human hair growth promotion in vitro and ex vivo.
  
  
  METHODS
  MTT assays were conducted to examine the effect of ECPs on hDPC proliferation. Hair growth was measured using ex-vivo hair follicle cultures. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate the mRNA expression of various growth factors in ECP-treated hDPCs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment with 10 µg/ml purified polyphenols from E. cava (PPE) enhanced the proliferation of hDPCs 30.3% more than in the negative control (p<0.001). Furthermore, 0.1 µg/ml PPE extended the human hair shaft 30.8% longer than the negative control over 9 days (p<0.05). Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) mRNA expression increased 3.2-fold in hDPCs following treatment with 6 µg/ml PPE (p<0.05). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA expression was also increased 2.0-fold by 3 µg/ml PPE (p<0.05). Treatment with 10 µg/ml PPE reduced oxidative stress in hDPCs (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that PPE could enhance human hair growth. This can be explained by hDPC proliferation coupled with increases in growth factors such as IGF-1 and VEGF. Reducing oxidative stress is also thought to help increase hDPCs. These favorable results suggest that PPE is a promising therapeutic candidate for hair loss.
authors: Department of Dermatology, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors: Hyoseung
authors: H
authors: Shin
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Human-Environmental Interface Biology, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: A-Ri
authors: AR
authors: Cho
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Human-Environmental Interface Biology, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Dong Young
authors: DY
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Human-Environmental Interface Biology, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Semchin
authors: S
authors: Munkhbayer
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Human-Environmental Interface Biology, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Soon-Jin
authors: SJ
authors: Choi
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Human-Environmental Interface Biology, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Sunhyae
authors: S
authors: Jang
authors: Botamedi Inc., Jeju, Korea.
authors: Seong Ho
authors: SH
authors: Kim
authors: Botamedi Inc., Jeju, Korea.
authors: Hyeon-Cheol
authors: HC
authors: Shin
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Human-Environmental Interface Biology, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Ohsang
authors: O
authors: Kwon
keywords: Ecklonia cava; Hair; Insulin-like growth factor-I; Oxidative stress; Polyphenols; Vascular endothelial growth factor A