http://kjvr.org/upload/2016/06/27/20160627134327523000.pdf - link to the study
Emodin showed no adverse side effects during 15 days of dermal application to the mice. The color of dermal skin was light gray in the emodin (0.01% and 0.1%) treated groups on day 7 after depilation. At day 13, the emodin (0.01% and 0.1%) groups surpassed vehicle group in hair growth activity, simi- lar to the minoxidil group. Furthermore, the 0.1% emodin group had significantly higher hair growth and rate of hair growth area than the vehicle group after 13 days. In the rep- resentative longitudinal sections, increasing hair follicles and a thickened epidermis were observed in the emodin treated groups compared with the vehicle group. These findings indicate that emodin has hair growth promoting activity sim- ilar to minoxidil in rodent models.
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Androgenetic alopecia, which is known to be the most common cause of hair loss, is associated with increased DHT levels. Five alpha-reductase, which is produced in many tis- sues of males and females, participates in steroid metabo- lism that leads to conversion of testosterone into DHT [3, 7, 21]. PGD2 also inhibits hair growth of patients with androge- netic alopecia and has the capacity to decrease hair lengthen- ing [5, 11]. Emodin possesses antioxidative activities including increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and SOD1, SOD2, and cytosolic glutathione peroxidase mRNA as well as anti-inflammatory activities. Also, emodin inhibited 5α- reductase by the hydroxyl group and attenuated the PGD2 activities by blocking NF-κB, a major transcription factor for COX-2 in a dose dependent manner [3, 9, 22]. Therefore, based on the results of the present study, we can infer that emodin may act via inhibitions of 5α-reductase and PGD2 activities, as well as through antioxidative and anti-inflam- matory activities. In this study, we demonstrated morpholog- ically that two doses of emodin (0.01% or 0.1%) promote the hair growth in dorsal skin of the shaved telogenic mice.
In conclusion, emodin significantly promoted hair growth with no side effects in a mouse model. It is possible that the hair follicles were stimulated to enter into anagen by emodin application, resulting in shortening of the time required for full growth. Although emodin was found to have a definite hair growth promoting effect in this study, further investiga- tions are needed to clarify its molecular mechanism of action
Emodin showed no adverse side effects during 15 days of dermal application to the mice. The color of dermal skin was light gray in the emodin (0.01% and 0.1%) treated groups on day 7 after depilation. At day 13, the emodin (0.01% and 0.1%) groups surpassed vehicle group in hair growth activity, simi- lar to the minoxidil group. Furthermore, the 0.1% emodin group had significantly higher hair growth and rate of hair growth area than the vehicle group after 13 days. In the rep- resentative longitudinal sections, increasing hair follicles and a thickened epidermis were observed in the emodin treated groups compared with the vehicle group. These findings indicate that emodin has hair growth promoting activity sim- ilar to minoxidil in rodent models.
....
Androgenetic alopecia, which is known to be the most common cause of hair loss, is associated with increased DHT levels. Five alpha-reductase, which is produced in many tis- sues of males and females, participates in steroid metabo- lism that leads to conversion of testosterone into DHT [3, 7, 21]. PGD2 also inhibits hair growth of patients with androge- netic alopecia and has the capacity to decrease hair lengthen- ing [5, 11]. Emodin possesses antioxidative activities including increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and SOD1, SOD2, and cytosolic glutathione peroxidase mRNA as well as anti-inflammatory activities. Also, emodin inhibited 5α- reductase by the hydroxyl group and attenuated the PGD2 activities by blocking NF-κB, a major transcription factor for COX-2 in a dose dependent manner [3, 9, 22]. Therefore, based on the results of the present study, we can infer that emodin may act via inhibitions of 5α-reductase and PGD2 activities, as well as through antioxidative and anti-inflam- matory activities. In this study, we demonstrated morpholog- ically that two doses of emodin (0.01% or 0.1%) promote the hair growth in dorsal skin of the shaved telogenic mice.
In conclusion, emodin significantly promoted hair growth with no side effects in a mouse model. It is possible that the hair follicles were stimulated to enter into anagen by emodin application, resulting in shortening of the time required for full growth. Although emodin was found to have a definite hair growth promoting effect in this study, further investiga- tions are needed to clarify its molecular mechanism of action