Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Heliopolis University, Cairo, Egypt.
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
J Med Food. 2022 Sep;25(9):869-881. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2021.0156. Epub 2022 Jul 7.
Alopecia or hair loss is a widespread issue that has significant effects on personal well-being for both genders nationally and internationally. In addition, alopecia causes extreme emotional stress and negatively impacts the psychological health and self-esteem of cancer patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Unfortunately, available synthetic medications are costly, invasive, or have extreme adverse effects. On the contrary, natural and herbal hair loss products are widely available in the local and international markets in variable pharmaceutical forms with different mechanisms of action, namely, androgen antagonists, nutritional supplements, vasodilators, and 5-reductase inhibitors or dihydrotestosterone blockers. Thus, it is of great importance to encourage researchers to investigate these natural alternatives that can act as potent therapeutic agents having diverse mechanisms of action as well as limited side effects. Currently, natural remedies are considered a fast-rising pharmaceutical segment with demand from a wide range of consumers. In this study, we present a review of reported herbal remedies and herb combinations recommended for hair loss and their mode of action, along with an overview of available market products and formulations, their composition, and declared effects. In addition, a general outline of the different forms of alopecia, its causes, and recommended treatments are mentioned as well. This was all done with the aim of assisting further studies with developing standardized natural formulations for alopecia as many were found to lack standardization of their bioactive ingredients and efficiency confirmation.
脱发或头发稀疏是一个普遍存在的问题，它对国内外男女两性的个人幸福感都有重大影响。此外，脱发会导致极度的情绪压力，并对接受化疗引起脱发的癌症患者的心理健康和自尊心产生负面影响。不幸的是，现有的合成药物昂贵、有侵入性或有极端的副作用。相反，天然和草药脱发产品在当地和国际市场上广泛供应，有不同的药物形式和不同的作用机制，即雄激素拮抗剂、营养补充剂、血管扩张剂、5-还原酶抑制剂或二氢睾酮阻滞剂。因此，鼓励研究人员研究这些天然替代品非常重要，这些替代品可以作为具有多种作用机制和有限副作用的有效治疗剂。目前，天然药物被认为是一个快速发展的制药领域，受到广泛消费者的需求。在这项研究中，我们回顾了报告的用于治疗脱发的草药疗法和草药组合及其作用机制，以及现有的市场产品和配方、其组成和宣称的效果。此外，还概述了不同形式的脱发、其原因和推荐的治疗方法。这一切都是为了协助进一步的研究，开发出标准化的天然脱发配方，因为许多配方缺乏对其生物活性成分的标准化和对其功效的确认。
