6-Gingerol inhibits hair shaft growth in cultured human hair follicles and modulates hair growth in mice.

6-Gingerol inhibits hair shaft growth in cultured human hair follicles and modulates hair growth in mice.
Miao Y, Sun Y, Wang W, Du B, Xiao SE, Hu Y, Hu Z.
Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23437345

Abstract
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has been traditionally used to check hair loss and stimulate hair growth in East Asia. Several companies produce shampoo containing an extract of ginger claimed to have anti-hair loss and hair growth promotion properties. However, there is no scientific evidence to back up these claims. This study was undertaken to measure 6-gingerol, the main active component of ginger, on hair shaft elongation in vitro and hair growth in vivo, and to investigate its effect on human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) in vivo and in vitro. 6-Gingerol suppressed hair growth in hair follicles in culture and the proliferation of cultured DPCs. The growth inhibition of DPCs by 6-gingerol in vitro may reflect a decrease in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Similar results were obtained in vivo. The results of this study showed that 6-gingerol does not have the ability to promote hair growth, on the contrary, can suppress human hair growth via its inhibitory and pro-apoptotic effects on DPCs in vitro, and can cause prolongation of telogen phase in vivo. Thus, 6-gingerol rather than being a hair growth stimulating drug, it is a potential hair growth suppressive drug; i.e. for hair removal.

In case anyone is using or considering a shampoo or topical with ginger in it, I thought I would post this study.

CF wrote:6-Gingerol inhibits hair shaft growth in cultured human hair follicles and modulates hair growth in mice.
Miao Y, Sun Y, Wang W, Du B, Xiao SE, Hu Y, Hu Z.
Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23437345

Abstract
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has been traditionally used to check hair loss and stimulate hair growth in East Asia. Several companies produce shampoo containing an extract of ginger claimed to have anti-hair loss and hair growth promotion properties. However, there is no scientific evidence to back up these claims. This study was undertaken to measure 6-gingerol, the main active component of ginger, on hair shaft elongation in vitro and hair growth in vivo, and to investigate its effect on human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) in vivo and in vitro. 6-Gingerol suppressed hair growth in hair follicles in culture and the proliferation of cultured DPCs. The growth inhibition of DPCs by 6-gingerol in vitro may reflect a decrease in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Similar results were obtained in vivo. The results of this study showed that 6-gingerol does not have the ability to promote hair growth, on the contrary, can suppress human hair growth via its inhibitory and pro-apoptotic effects on DPCs in vitro, and can cause prolongation of telogen phase in vivo. Thus, 6-gingerol rather than being a hair growth stimulating drug, it is a potential hair growth suppressive drug; i.e. for hair removal.

was the gingerol applied internally or topically?

Shit, i am literally drinking ginger coffee that I just got from Trader Joes. I guess I'll be throwing the rest of that tin out! It's not that good anyway...

YAER wrote:was the gingerol applied internally or topically?

Topical.

Full study: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0057226

any other opinion on this?

thought ginger was good for hair growth too..

There's a guy over at hlh forum claiming to get regrowth from it, check it out.

http://www.hairlosshelp.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=112445&enterthread=y

Ginger is absolutely wonderful for one's health.

I eat some straight from the root (blend in with green smoothie) daily. A good size chunk I take off usually, about 1"x1".

This is actually going to harm my hair?

Feels hard to believe.

CS, others, comments on this?

I say eat whatever the hell you want as long as it's fresh and organic and you won't be having many health problems, hair or otherwise.

If it's whole, probably no worries, remember that 6-gingerol is part of it, but not the whole thing.

Although I somewhat understand the concept CS, can you explain how eating the whole ginger would counter the effects of 6-gingerol? Is it the combination of ingredients that mediates it?

sizzlinghairs wrote:Although I somewhat understand the concept CS, can you explain how eating the whole ginger would counter the effects of 6-gingerol? Is it the combination of ingredients that mediates it?

I really can't say. What I am about to say might sound confusing and since we are talking about hair here, this should not be taken lightly.

I would be much more confident about using this topically than internally. So what I'm saying is, would not be absolutely confident about ginger taking internally, whole or otherwise.

The reason for this is because ginger are types of vanilloids, such as vanillin, eugenol, zingerone, and capsaicin.

If one looks at the literature on capsaicin (cayenne pepper) they will find that more than a tiny bit can really cause shedding.

The full explanation can be found here: http://ajp.amjpathol.org/article/S0002-9440(10)62320-6/fulltext

So unless it is used topically, would suggest a lot of caution over ingesting the vanilloid family on a regular basis.

is anyone else sick of comparing mouse physiology to human physiology.

believe me when i say i know the genetics are %95+ the same, however i fail to see the logic behind comparing fur over a whole body, to hair over a human head. we all know the genetics, and receptor affinitys etc are different for human head hair compared to arm and leg hair, face hair, pubic hair etc.

i just dont see the relevance, beyond severe toxicology that kills all forms of hair/fur etc.

rofl - It's definitely a problem in some studies. However, many of these that involve this mechanism has also been studied on human hair follicles.

It seems a little bit of the spice is okay, even beneficial, but too much triggers hair fall.

CS, arent there many beneficial things about ginger for one's health though?

I use always organic fresh ginger. Been using it for almost 3 years now. Dont think Ive noticed any shedding from it but was concerned about it halting regrowth..

I also have heard many reports of topical capsaicin helping hairloss.

Do you have any links to studies showing internal ginger could cause a shed? I would honestly think a 1"x1" cube of fresh organic ginger daily could ONLY be helpful..

Caspicum/Cayenne is okay topically, although I don't like it (tried it many times).

Excessive amounts internally will cause hair fall.

Ginger, other than that one constituent, there's just not enough info to say. Besides 6-gingerol, there's also
other gingerols, although they are not that stable.

I'd say the jury is still out.

Thanks so far.

Back to my other questions. Would the combination of erols in the whole form produce a different result possibly then the 6 gingerol by itself? Does this happen in nature? As I mentioned before, one compound mediating/changing the effects of another?

sizzlinghairs wrote:Thanks so far.

Back to my other questions. Would the combination of erols in the whole form produce a different result possibly then the 6 gingerol by itself? Does this happen in nature? As I mentioned before, one compound mediating/changing the effects of another?

Yes, I also hope so/think so.

To that end, here is something that speaks to that:

Food Chem. 2013 Dec 1;141(3):3183-91. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.06.010. Epub 2013 Jun 11.
Anti-neuroinflammatory capacity of fresh ginger is attributed mainly to 10-gingerol.
Ho SC1, Chang KS, Lin CC.

Despite the anti-neuroinflammatory capacity of ginger, the corresponding active constituents are unclear. This study analyzed the composition of fresh ginger ethanolic extract by using LC-MS. Inhibitory activities of fresh ginger extract and seven gingerol-related compounds on the neuro-inflammation were also evaluated by using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated BV2 microglia culture model. Except for zingerone and 6-gingerol, other gingerols and shogaols at a concentration of 20 μM inhibited the production of nitric oxide, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α as well as their mRNA levels in LPS-activated BV2 microglia. Blocking NF-κB activation was the underlying mechanism responsible for inhibiting the proinflammatory gene expression. Increasing the alkyl chain length enhanced the anti-neuroinflammatory capacity of gingerols yet, conversely, attenuated those of shogaols. 6-Gingerol was the most abundant compound in the fresh ginger extract, followed by 10-gingerol. Furthermore, fresh ginger extract exhibited a significant anti-neuroinflammatory capacity, which was largely owing to 10-gingerol, but not 6-gingerol.