Absence of H2O2 Breakdown in Human Hair Medulla: Implications in Follicular Melanogenesis

The study from 5 years ago introduced the absence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) decomposition in the human hair follicle medulla, attributing this to a lack of essential antioxidants for eliminating reactive oxygen species generated during cellular respiration. The researchers proposed that follicular melanogenesis (FM) in human hair follicles involves the melanogenic activity of follicular melanocytes, the transfer of melanin granules into cortical and medulla keratinocytes, and the formation of pigmented hair shafts. They used a method of introducing airborne gradual H2O2 molecules transfer into water, which slowed down the decomposition speed of H2O2 when contacting human tissue. This allowed them to observe H2O2 decomposition in the cortical and cortex areas of the hair follicle. The study suggested a new paradigm where the human hair medulla is excluded from H2O2 breakdown, implying the absence of metabolic activity from FM.