Objective: To investigate the effect of water soluble extracts of traditional Chinese herbs on growth of mouse hair follicles and hair bulb cells in vitro.
Methods: Mouse hair follicles and hair bulb cells were cultured in Williams E medium with (experimental groups) or without (control group) water soluble extracts of Chinese herbs; the experimental group was further divided into mixture and single herb groups. Hair growth was observed by microscopy and growth activity of hair bulb cells was detected by MTT colorimetric assay.
Result: On day 7 of culture, the hair growth in the mixture groups was faster than that in the control group (P<0.05). On day 3 and 5 of culture, the cell growth activity in the mixture groups was greater than that in the control group (P<0.05). While the hair growth and the cell growth activity between the single herb groups and the control group were not significantly different.
Conclusion: The water soluble extracts of mixed traditional Chinese medicines can promote the growth of mouse hair in vitro and stimulate the proliferation of hair bulb cells; while those of the single traditional Chinese herb have no effect.