Pentacyclic Triterpenoid Maslinic Acid Promotes Hair Growth Comparable to Minoxidil: A New Insight on the Potential Involvement of Cilia Activity

July 2025 in “ ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science ”

Aprill Kee Oliva Mizushima, Meryem Bouhoute, Meriem Bejaoui, Farhana Ferdousi, Mitsutoshi Nakajima, Hiroko Isoda

maslinic acid minoxidil anagen induction CTNNB1 VEGF trichogenic genes ALPL FGF1 Wnt pathway Notch pathway MAPK pathway angiogenesis cilia activity ciliogenesis Iqcb1 Wnt/β-catenin pathway olive extracts Rogaine

From the encyclopedia

Minoxidil →

An essential vasodilator with some anti-androgenic effects

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor →

Studysummary In this study, maslinic acid applied topically was observed to stimulate hair growth in mice comparably to minoxidil, primarily activating pathways like Wnt/β-catenin, and suggesting a link between hair growth and cilia activity. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study explores the effects of maslinic acid (MA) on hair growth, comparing it to minoxidil (MIN). MA was found to significantly promote hair growth by upregulating key hair growth markers and activating signaling pathways such as Wnt, MAPK, Notch, and angiogenesis. It also suggests a novel link between cilia activity and hair growth, with MA upregulating IQCB1, a gene associated with ciliogenesis. In vivo experiments with C3H mice showed that MA promoted hair growth, with treated mice displaying darker skin and longer hair shafts. The findings indicate that MA could be a promising natural alternative for hair growth treatments, although further studies on its pharmacokinetics and the cilia-hair growth connection are needed.

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