P32 EFFECT OF A BIOTECHNICAL ENHANCED HERB EXTRACT ON HUMAN HAIR FOLLICLE GROWTH IN VITRO

Xia Z.D., Hughes M., Cherry G. W. Wound Healing Institute, Dermatology Department, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, England.

Herbal medicine has been used all over the world for thousands of years. An alcohol extract from Cacumen platycladi (Chinese Arbovitae Twig and Leaf) was recorded having effect on baldness and promoting hair growth but the effect was not stable. Recently a multi-enzymatic technique has been used in herbal preparation. Cacumen platycladi is extracted using this technique and compounded with the other 7 herbs according to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (trademark is Mantop). Clinical trials had shown the effects of Mantop on seborrheic baldness and alopecia areata. In order to obtain further scientific evidence, the mixed ingredients were used for human bone marrow fibroblastic stem cell and normal human hair follicle culture models. Human hair follicles were isolated from face-lift operation and cultured in William  E medium with or without supplements. 4 biopsies (52 to 60-years old female donor) and 156 hair follicles were used in this study. The hair length was measured at the beginning of experiment (day 0) and every 24 hours until day 7, then the hair follicles were fixed in buffered formaldehyde for further histological observation. The result showed that Mantop had no cytotoxicity on human bone marrow fibroblastic cells. The clinic used dose was the most effective dose on stimulating hair follicle growth. The average increase in hair length during 7-days period of culture in Mantop-treated hair follicles is 122% over that in control group (p < 0.05). Mantop even promoted hair follicle growth in hydrocortisone or supplement deficient medium (p < 0.05). However, the mechanism of the effects and the effective ingredients are still unknown, further purification and studies are warranted.