Natural Sweetener Stevioside-Based Dissolving Microneedles Solubilize Minoxidil for the Treatment of Androgenic Alopecia

October 2025 in “ Advanced Healthcare Materials ”

Junying Zhang, Tianyu Shao, Hai-Liang Li, Luying Zhu, Lamyaa Albakr, Nial Wheate, Lifeng Kang, Chungyong Wu

stevioside dissolving microneedles minoxidil androgenic alopecia bioavailability transdermal delivery Rogaine

TLDR Stevioside-based microneedles improve minoxidil delivery and hair growth for treating hair loss.

The study investigates the use of stevioside-based dissolving microneedles (SDP MN) to improve the solubility and delivery of minoxidil (MXD) for treating androgenic alopecia (AGA). The SDP MNs demonstrated enhanced MXD solubility and bioavailability, achieving 85.2% cumulative drug permeation in vitro, compared to 68.1% with traditional MXD solutions. In an animal model with C57BL/6 mice, the SDP MN group showed significantly more hair growth, with 6.4 ± 1.1 cm² of new hair by day 35, compared to 2.2 ± 0.8 cm² with the 2% MXD solution. The study concludes that SDP MNs are a promising transdermal approach for AGA treatment, though further studies are needed to confirm efficacy in humans.

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