Simultaneous Effects of Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol Succinate on Local Hair Growth Promotion and Systemic Absorption of Topically Applied Minoxidil in a Mouse Model
October 2005
in “
International Journal of Pharmaceutics
”
TLDR Adding a small amount of TPGS to minoxidil can help hair growth, but too much TPGS reduces this effect and increases minoxidil in the blood.
In 2005, a study was conducted on the effects of tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) on hair growth and the systemic absorption of topically applied minoxidil in a mouse model. The study found that adding 0.5% TPGS to the cosolvent formulations facilitated hair growth, but increasing the TPGS concentration to 2% reduced this effect. The study also found that plasma concentrations of minoxidil were higher with 2% Regaine® than with 2% minoxidil in cosolvent formulations containing various amounts of TPGS. However, the plasma concentration of minoxidil tended to increase with higher amounts of TPGS (2%). The study did not find a relationship between hair growth and sulfotransferase activities after topical application of 2% Regaine® and minoxidil formulations containing various amounts of TPGS.
