Promotion effect of acankoreoside J, a lupane-triterpene in Acanthopanax koreanum, on hair growth

The study from 2012 investigated the hair growth promotion effects of Acanthopanax koreanum, particularly focusing on acankoreoside J (AK10), a lupane-triterpene isolated from the plant's leaves. The results indicated that AK10 significantly increased the proliferation of rat vibrissa dermal papilla cells and hair-fiber length in vitro. The proliferation of dermal papilla cells increased by 121.2 ± 7.1% at 1 µM AK10, and hair fiber growth increased by 118.1 ± 12.0% at 0.1 µM AK10, compared to controls. The mechanism behind this effect involved an increase in nuclear ß-catenin levels and the up-regulation of cell cycle proteins (cyclin D1, cyclin E, and CDK2), along with the down-regulation of p27kip1. The study concluded that AK10 does not act through opening ATP-sensitive potassium channels or inhibiting steroid 5α-reductase, suggesting its hair growth promoting effects are mediated through other pathways. The findings suggest that acankoreoside J from A. koreanum could be a potential therapeutic agent for hair growth promotion, as supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea. The specific number of cells or follicles used in the experiments was not mentioned in the summary.