The Hair Growth Promoting Effect of 4-O-Methylhonokiol

The study investigated the hair growth promoting effects of 4-O-methylhonokiol, a compound from Magnolia officinalis, using rat vibrissa follicles and C57BL/6 mice. It found that 4-O-methylhonokiol significantly increased hair fiber lengths in rat vibrissa follicles by up to 253.5% and accelerated the anagen phase in mice when applied topically. The compound also promoted the proliferation of dermal papilla cells and increased the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the hair bulb region. The results suggest that 4-O-methylhonokiol enhances hair growth by modulating TGF-ß1 and TGF-ß2 levels and up-regulating PCNA. The study was funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea and declared no conflicts of interest.