Does Pumpkin Seed Oil Block DHT, the Hormone Linked to Male and Female Pattern Baldness?

Pumpkin seed oil comes from the seeds of the pumpkin plant (Cucurbita pepo). It is often sold as a hair-loss supplement with the claim that it blocks dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the hormone linked to pattern hair loss. No study has measured DHT in people taking pumpkin seed oil, so this claim has not been shown.

Where the DHT idea comes from

The body makes DHT from testosterone using an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase. Some animal studies have suggested that pumpkin seed oil may inhibit this enzyme. The authors of the only human hair trial describe the mechanism as "still unclear" and base it on that earlier animal work (Cho et al., 2014).

The one human trial

In a 24-week trial in South Korea, 76 men with mild to moderate androgenetic alopecia took either 400 mg a day of a branded pumpkin seed oil capsule (Octa Sabal Plus) or a placebo (Cho et al., 2014).

• Hair count: mean hair counts rose by 40% in the pumpkin seed oil group and by 10% in the placebo group.
• Hair thickness: there was no difference between the groups.
• Hormones: the trial did not measure DHT or PSA. Free testosterone did not change in either group.
• Side effects: most men had none. One man in each group reported itching, and one in the pumpkin seed oil group reported mild stomach discomfort.

Who ran it: the capsules and placebos were supplied by Dreamplus Co., Ltd., which also funded the study and held the randomization codes. Twelve of the 76 men dropped out. The authors called it a "first-stage study" and said it needs to be repeated. We found no published trial that has repeated it with pumpkin seed oil alone; later trials used pumpkin seed extract only as one ingredient in multi-ingredient supplements.

What this means

• There is no human evidence that pumpkin seed oil lowers DHT.
• The only hair result comes from one small, supplier-funded trial of one branded product, in men only.
• Pumpkin seed oil is not an approved hair-loss treatment.

If you are thinking of taking it alongside a prescribed hair-loss medicine, ask a doctor or pharmacist first.

References

Cho, Y. H., Lee, S. Y., Jeong, D. W., Choi, E. J., Kim, Y. J., Lee, J. G., Yi, Y. H., & Cha, H. S. (2014). Effect of pumpkin seed oil on hair growth in men with androgenetic alopecia: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2014, 549721. PMID 24864154. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/549721