4. Discussion
androgenetic alopecia, hair loss, alopecia, androgenetic
ANDROGENETIC ALOPECIA, HAIR LOSS, SECONDARY, LEAKAGE, ALOPECIA, PATHOGENESIS
In the present clinical–laboratory study, we attempted for the first time to show the clinical efficacy of cosmetic hair care preparations containing the well-established and extensively studied food supplements—fermented papaya and mangosteen—as active agents against androgenetic alopecia and diffuse hair loss. The primary goal of this randomized double-control (placebo and caffein) clinical investigation was to quantify clinical efficacy. The secondary goal was to identify biochemical markers relevant for the efficacy observed. The professional opinion of experts in the field was collected as scores, and showed that exclusively experimental lotion and shampoo containing fermented papaya and mangosteen as well as caffein improved hair shaft conditions and attenuated hair loss (Only a few clinical studies have been carried out on diffuse (stress- or chemotherapy-connected alopecia (reviewed in [The etiology and pathogenesis of androgenetic and diffuse hair loss and the molecular mechanisms underlying these two pathologies are quite different (see references above and in the Introduction). Since similar clinical effects were observed in patients diagnosed with the two types of alopecia, we attempted to search for biochemical markers characteristic for the same. One of the possible markers was ATP content in the hair follicle/root. As seen in The background ATP deficiency in hair follicles of patients with both types of alopecia did not correlate with the leakage of low molecular weight proteins from the matrix of hair shafts (Conversely, the measurement of the SH-groups in low molecular weight proteins/peptides containing cysteine and methionine, which form an amorphous hair matrix of high sulfur proteins, could be useful in the screening of effective hair care products [Not surprisingly, experimental hair care cosmetics diminished the levels of MDA, a final product of free radical-driven lipid peroxidation of hair and scalp skin lipids (The effects of experimental hair care products on microbiota residing on the scalp skin and hair shaft (More investigations on the preclinical and clinical effects of food-grade fermented products as active components for cosmetics are needed in order to provide a solid background for their cosmetic effects. A combination of phytochemical and biological experiments would allow for identification of plant- and microbe-derived substances with specific hair loss prevention and hair quality enhancement effects. Recently, a new aliphatic ester of hydroxysalicilic acid isolated from fermented 