Proprietary Herbal Extract Downregulates the Gene Expression of IL-1α in HaCaT Cells: Possible Implications Against Nonscarring Alopecia

In the 2018 study by Pekmezci et al., a proprietary herbal extract (HE) composed of six different herbal extracts was tested on HaCaT cells (human keratinocytes) for its effects on IL-1α gene expression, a cytokine involved in nonscarring alopecia forms like androgenetic alopecia, telogen effluvium, and alopecia areata. The HE significantly downregulated IL-1α gene expression with a fold change of 0.1900 (p<0.0001), suggesting its potential as a supportive treatment for these alopecia types. The study also included a phytochemical analysis of the HE, identifying beneficial compounds such as vitamins and flavonoids, and confirmed non-cytotoxic concentrations for use in experiments. However, the study was conducted in vitro, and no human subjects were involved.