The Effect of Tripeptide-Copper Complex on Human Hair Growth In Vitro
July 2007
in “
Archives of Pharmacal Research
”
TLDR A tripeptide-copper complex may help hair grow by increasing cell growth and decreasing cell death.
The study from 2007 found that a tripeptide-copper complex, AHK-Cu, stimulated the elongation of human hair follicles and the proliferation of dermal papilla cells (DPCs) at concentrations between 10^-12 and 10^-9 M. The research involved 240 hair follicles from three volunteers and showed that while AHK-Cu at 10^-9 M did not significantly reduce the number of apoptotic DPCs, it did increase the Bcl-2/Bax ratio and decreased levels of apoptosis markers caspase-3 and PARP. These findings suggest that AHK-Cu may promote hair growth by stimulating DPC proliferation and preventing apoptosis, indicating its potential as a therapeutic agent for hair growth promotion.
