Original Article: Effect of Wheat Bran on Hair Growth

This study evaluated the effect of wheat bran on hair growth, finding that the n-hexane fraction of wheat bran significantly increased hair-fiber lengths in rat vibrissa follicles and induced the telogen-anagen transition in C57BL/6 mice. The fraction also promoted the proliferation of immortalized vibrissa dermal papilla cells (DPCs) in a dose-dependent manner. Molecular analysis revealed that this proliferation was associated with increased levels of cell cycle proteins (cyclin D1, cyclin E, phospho-CDK2, phospho-pRB) and Wnt/β-catenin signaling components (phospho(ser552)-β-catenin, phospho(ser675)-β-catenin, phospho(ser9)-GSK3β). These findings suggested that wheat bran could promote hair growth by regulating DPC proliferation through cell cycle proteins and Wnt/β-catenin signaling.