Human Hair Growth Enhancement In Vitro By Green Tea Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG)

In the 2007 study, researchers investigated the effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major component of green tea polyphenols, on human hair growth. They found that EGCG promoted hair growth in ex vivo cultured hair follicles and increased the proliferation of cultured human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) both in vitro and in vivo. The mechanism behind this stimulation appeared to be related to the upregulation of phosphorylated Erk and Akt and an increase in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, which are associated with cell proliferation and anti-apoptotic effects. These findings suggest that EGCG could potentially be used to stimulate human hair growth by targeting DPCs.