TLDR Chinese black tea extract helped mice grow hair, especially when combined with capsaicin.
The study investigated the hair growth-promoting effects of Chinese black tea extract (CBTE) in 6-week-old male C3H/He mice. The results showed that topical application of 3.5% CBTE significantly promoted hair growth after 2 weeks. Additionally, the effect of CBTE was found to be synergistically potentiated by capsaicin, although capsaicin alone had no effect on hair growth. CBTE also displayed an affinity for estrogen receptor (ER)α, with an IC50 value of 74.8 µg/mL, suggesting that the hair growth-promoting effect might be mediated by ERs. The study concluded that active substances produced during the fermentation process of CBTE might be responsible for its affinity to ERs and its hair growth-promoting effects. The number of mice used in the study and the statistical significance of the results were not provided in the summary.
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