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Inhibitory activities of Puerariae Flos against testosterone 5α-reductase and its hair growth promotion activities

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Abstract

Crude drugs expected to have an estrogenic effect were screened for their inhibitory activity on testosterone 5α-reductase. Testosterone 5α-reductase is an enzyme catalyzing the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which possesses high affinity for the androgen receptor. Among the crude drugs tested, we focused on Puerariae Flos (the flowers of Pueraria thomsonii) due to its potent inhibitory activity and suitability for commercial use. The 50% ethanolic extract of Puerariae Flos (PF-ext) showed inhibitory activity of 60.2% at 500 μg/ml against testosterone 5α-reductase. Interestingly, it was more potent than that of Puerariae Radix (roots of Pueraria lobata). PF-ext also showed in vivo anti-androgenic activity using a hair growth assay in testosterone-sensitive male C57Black/6NCrSlc strain mice. We demonstrated saponins, including soyasaponin I and kaikasaponin III, to be active components in PF-ext. In addition, hair growth promotion activity in C3H/He mice at 2 mg/mouse/day of the topical administration of PF-ext was demonstrated. Thus, Puerariae Flos is a promising crude drug for treating androgenic alopecia.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the “Antiaging Center Project” for Private Universities from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 2008–2012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmacy, Kinki University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka, 577-8502, Japan

    Kazuya Murata, Kazuma Noguchi & Hideaki Matsuda

  2. Hair Clinic Reve21 Corporation, 21-1-61 Shiromi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 540-9122, Japan

    Masato Kondo, Mariko Onishi, Naoko Watanabe & Katsumasa Okamura

Authors
  1. Kazuya Murata
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  2. Kazuma Noguchi
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  3. Masato Kondo
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  4. Mariko Onishi
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  5. Naoko Watanabe
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  6. Katsumasa Okamura
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  7. Hideaki Matsuda
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Correspondence to Hideaki Matsuda.

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Murata, K., Noguchi, K., Kondo, M. et al. Inhibitory activities of Puerariae Flos against testosterone 5α-reductase and its hair growth promotion activities. J Nat Med 66, 158–165 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-011-0570-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-011-0570-6

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