RESUMO
In Korean folk medicine, several herbs, Glycyrrhizae Radix, Persicae Semen, Salviae Radix, Angelicae Gigantis Radix, Zanthoxyli Fructus, Ginseng Radix Alba, Cnidii Rhizoma, and Carthami Flos, are known to enhance blood circulation and have wound healing or anti-inflammatory effects. These pharmacological actions prompted us to investigate whether these herbs might stimulate hair growth. Thus, using a mixture of their extracts called SPELA 707, we investigated their effects and found that SPELA 707 possessed significant hair cycle converting activity from the telogen phase to the anagen phase in C3H mice. Furthermore, we found that SPELA 707 enhanced the hair density in subjects with hair loss and also promoted the conversion of hair into the anagen phase in subjects with androgenetic alopecia. In addition, hair growth promotion effect of SPELA 707 occurred through inhibition of steroid 5 alpha-reductase activity, which is known to block hair growth. Taken together, these results suggest that SPELA 707 has a potential to be used for the treatment of hair loss.