THE EFFECT OF HAIR TONIC FROM SECRETOME MESENCHYMAL STEM CELL ON HAIR GROWTH IN HAIR LOSS CASES

Authors

  • MARLINA Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Andalas, Padang City, West Sumatra-25175, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3772-5876
  • NELLA NOVITA Akademi Farmasi Prayoga Padang, Kota Padang, Sumatera Barat-25129, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0570-3970
  • REGINA ANDAYANI Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Andalas, Padang City, West Sumatra-25175, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2026v18i1.52744

Keywords:

Stem cell, Secretome, Hair loss, Alopecia, VEGF

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to determine the optimum concentration of secretome from mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in a hair tonic formulation and evaluate its effect on hair growth in individuals experiencing alopecia.

Methods: Tweenty volunteers were divided into five groups to test various hair tonic formulations over eight weeks. Each group received a different concentration of MSC secretome (5%, 7%, 10%) while negative controls consisted of fetal bovine serum and hair tonic base without MSC. Hair density was measured before and after the treatment period to assess the impact of each formulation.

Results: The formulations containing adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cell (ATMSCs) secretome significantly influenced hair growth, with the 10% secretome concentration showing the most substantial increase in hair density among the volunteers. Analysis revealed that the 10% formulation had higher levels of vascular endhotelial growth factor (VEGF) compared to the 5% and 7% formulations, indicating a correlation between VEGF concentration and the stimulation of hair follicle activity.

Conclusion: The MSC hair tonic formula enhanced the hair density of participants after eight weeks, indicating its potential as a treatment to stimulate hair growth in those with alopecia. The study concludes that a higher concentration of MSC secretome specifically 10%, may yield optimal results in promoting hair regeneration.

References

1. Yasir AS. Hair growth activity test of male rabbit with hair tonic preparation which contains ethanol extract of Nothopanax scutellarium L. J Farm Mahayati. 2019;2(1).

2. National Health Service. Hair loss overview; 2021. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hair-loss/. [Last accessed on 08 Nov 2025].

3. Bhaware P, Kore P. Systematic review on synthetic and herbal medications for the treatment of alopecia. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research. 2024;17(12):22-7. doi: 10.22159/ajpcr.2024v17i12.52284.

4. Patel S, Sharma V, Chauhan NS, Thakur M, Dixit VK. Hair growth: focus on herbal therapeutic agent. Curr Drug Discov Technol. 2015;12(1):21-42. doi: 10.2174/1570163812666150610115055, PMID 26058803.

5. Nalluri R, Harries M. Alopecia in general medicine. Clin Med (Lond). 2016;16(1):74-8. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.16-1-74, PMID 26833522.

6. Gupta AK, Charrette A. Topical minoxidil: systematic review and meta-analysis of its efficacy in androgenetic alopecia. Skinmed. 2015;13(3):185-9. PMID 26380504.

7. Falto Aizpurua L, Choudhary S, Tosti A. Emerging treatments in alopecia. Expert Opin Emerg Drugs. 2014;19(4):545-56. doi: 10.1517/14728214.2014.974550, PMID 25330928.

8. Alsantali A. Alopecia areata: a new treatment plan. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2011;4:107-15. doi: 10.2147/CCID.S22767, PMID 21833161.

9. Yano K, Brown LF, Detmar M. Control of hair growth and follicle size by VEGF-mediated angiogenesis. J Clin Invest. 2001;107(4):409-17. doi: 10.1172/JCI11317, PMID 11181640.

10. Shin H, Ryu HH, Kwon O, Park BS, Jo SJ. Clinical use of conditioned media of adipose tissue-derived stem cells in female pattern hair loss: a retrospective case series study. Int J Dermatol. 2015;54(6):730-5. doi: 10.1111/ijd.12650, PMID 25777970.

11. Bunnell BA, Flaat M, Gagliardi C, Patel B, Ripoll C. Adipose-derived stem cells: isolation, expansion and differentiation. Methods. 2008;45(2):115-20. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2008.03.006, PMID 18593609.

12. Foubert P, Gonzalez AD, Teodosescu S, Berard F, Doyle Eisele M, Yekkala K. Adipose-derived regenerative cell therapy for burn wound healing: a comparison of two delivery methods. Adv Wound Care. 2016;5(7):288-98. doi: 10.1089/wound.2015.0672, PMID 27366590.

13. Miana VV, Gonzalez EA. Adipose tissue stem cells in regenerative medicine. Ecancermedicalscience. 2018;12(822):822. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2018.822, PMID 29662535.

14. Zanzottera F, Lavezzari E, Trovato L, Icardi A GA. Adipose derived stem cells and growth factors applied on hair transplantation. Follow-up of clinical outcome. J Cosmet Dermatol Sci Appl. 2014;4(4):268-74. doi: 10.4236/jcdsa.2014.44036.

15. Gibco. Cell culture basics handbook. United Kingdom: Thermo Fisher; 2015.

16. Marlina PR, Pradifta R, Lucida H, Sudji IR, Salsabila HN, Elida N. Formulation of mesenchymal stem cell secretome as antiaging cream. Int J App Pharm. 2023;15(1):45-50. doi: 10.22159/ijap.2023.v15s1.47506.

17. Pawitan JA. Prospect of stem cell conditioned medium in regenerative medicine. Bio Med Res Int. 2014;2014:965849. doi: 10.1155/2014/965849, PMID 25530971.

18. Fukuoka H, Suga H. Hair regeneration treatment using stem cell conditioned medium. Japan J Plast Surg. 2012;55(9):1083.

19. Narita K, Fukuoka H, Sekiyama T, Suga H, Harii K. Sequential scalp assessment in hair regeneration therapy using an adipose-derived stem cell–conditioned medium. Dermatol Surg. 2020;46(6):819-25. doi: 10.1097/DSS.0000000000002128, PMID 31490301.

20. Fukuoka H, Suga H. Hair regeneration treatment using adipose derived stem cell conditioned medium: follow-up with trichograms. Eplasty. 2015;15(10):e10. PMID 25834689.

21. Fukuoka H, Narita K, Suga H. Hair regeneration therapy: application of adipose-derived stem cells. Curr Stem Cell Res Ther. 2017;12(7):531-4. doi: 10.2174/1574888X12666170522114307, PMID 28530535.

22. Fukuoka H, Suga H, Narita K, Watanabe R, Shintani S. The latest advance in hair regeneration therapy using proteins secreted by adipose-derived stem cells. Am J Cosmet Surg. 2012;29(4):273-82. doi: 10.5992/AJCS-D-12-00015.1.

23. Aldila S. In vivo evaluation of hair growth effect of hair tonic formulation containing mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium. Universitas Andalas; 2021.

24. Oh HA, Kwak J, Kim BJ, Jin HJ, Park WS, Choi SJ. Migration inhibitory factor in conditioned medium from human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cells stimulates hair growth. Cells. 2020;9(6):1344. doi: 10.3390/cells9061344, PMID 32481584.

25. Marlina M, Rahmadian R, Sudji IR, Handayana V, Safitri M, Elida N. Synovial membrane mesenchymal stem cell [SM-MSC] induced IGF-1 promote growth factor release in conditioned medium SM-MSC. IOP Conf Ser: Earth Environ Sci. 2021;741(1):012067. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/741/1/012067.

26. Pradifta R. Anti-aging effect of a cream formulation containing mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium. Universitas Andalas; 2021.

27. Venitasya S. Effect of conditioned medium from adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cells (ATMSCs) on second-degree (IIA) burn wounds in mice. Universitas Andalas; 2021.

28. Han HS, Park KY, Ko EJ, Kim BJ. Efficacy of a hair tonic containing human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cell-derived conditioned media in patients with androgenetic alopecia. Korean Journal of Dermatology. 2019;57(5):251-7.

29. POM D. Formularium Kosmetika. Indonesia. Vol. 86. Jakarta: Departemen Kesehatan RI; 1985. p. 206-19.

30. Barel AO, Paye M, Maibach HI, editors. Handbook of cosmetic science and technology. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 2009. p. 626-9.

31. Kubanov AA, Gallyamova YA, Korableva OA. The study of growth factors in patients with androgenic alopecia. Biomed Pharmacol J. 2017;10(3):1219-28. doi: 10.13005/bpj/1224.

32. Chandra P. Formulation and evaluation of a water-resistant hair tonic gel containing extract and fractions of date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.). Universitas Sumatera Utara; 2020.

33. Oh HA, Kwak J, Kim BJ, Jin HJ, Park WS, Choi SJ. Migration inhibitory factor in conditioned medium from human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cells stimulates hair growth. Cells. 2020;9(6):1344. doi: 10.3390/cells9061344, PMID 32481584.

34. Rhamayanti Y. The importance of basic teaching skills for mathematics education students in field experience practice. EKSAKTA: Journal of Mathematics & Learning. 2018;3(1):65-72.

35. Noverina R, Widowati W, Ayuningtyas W, Kurniawan D, Afifah E, Laksmitawati DR. Growth factors profile in conditioned medium human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (CM-hATMSCs). Clin Nutr Exp. 2019 Apr;24:34-44. doi: 10.1016/j.yclnex.2019.01.002.

36. Zhou BR, Xu Y, Guo SL, Xu Y, Wang Y, Zhu F. The effect of conditioned media of adipose-derived stem cells on wound healing after ablative fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing. BioMed Res Int. 2013;2013:519126. doi: 10.1155/2013/519126, PMID 24381938.

37. Garcia Bartels N, Jahnke I, Patzelt A, Richter H, Lademann J, Blume Peytavi U. Hair shaft abnormalities in alopecia areata evaluated by optical coherence tomography. Skin Res Technol. 2011;17(2):201-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0846.2010.00484.x, PMID 21241369.

38. Kim MJ, Lim C, Lee JY, Im KR, Yoon KS, Song JM. Visible-to-near ir quantum dot–based hypermulticolor high content screening of herbal medicines for the efficacy monitoring of hair growth promotion and hair loss inhibition. J Biomol Screen. 2013;18(4):462-73. doi: 10.1177/1087057112464574, PMID 23190736.

39. Ozeki M, Tabata Y. In vivo promoted growth of mice hair follicles by the controlled release of growth factors. Biomaterials. 2003;24(13):2387-94. doi: 10.1016/S0142-9612(03)00045-0, PMID 12699676.

40. Gnann LA, Castro RF, Azzalis LA, Feder D, Perazzo FF, Pereira EC. Hematological and hepatic effects of vascular epidermal growth factor (VEGF) used to stimulate hair growth in an animal model. BMC Dermatol. 2013;13(15):15. doi: 10.1186/1471-5945-13-15, PMID 24168457.

41. Bak DH, Choi MJ, Kim SR, Lee BC, Kim JM, Jeon ES. Human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells engineered to overexpress growth factors accelerate outcomes in hair growth. Korean J Physiol Pharmacol. 2018;22(5):555-66. doi: 10.4196/kjpp.2018.22.5.555, PMID 30181702.

42. Rendl M, Polak L, Fuchs E. BMP signaling in dermal papilla cells is required for their hair follicle inductive properties. Genes Dev. 2008;22(4):543-57. doi: 10.1101/gad.1614408, PMID 18281466.

43. Weger N, Schlake T. Igf-I signalling controls the hair growth cycle and the differentiation of hair shafts. J Invest Dermatol. 2005;125(5):873-82. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-202X.2005.23946.x, PMID 16297183.

44. Qi Y, Li M, Xu L, Chang Z, Shu X, Zhou L. Therapeutic role of human hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in treating hair loss. Peer J. 2016;4:e2624. doi: 10.7717/peerj.2624, PMID 27833804.

45. More BH, Sakhawarde SN, Tembhurne SV, Sakarkar D. Evaluation for skin irritancy testing of developed formulations containing extract of Butea monosperma for its topical application. Int J Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2013;3(1):10-3.

46. Nugraha A, Nugrahaningsih DA, Syarif RA, Yuniyanti MM, Salim IN, Sari R. Acute irritation of tetracyclic c-4-hydroxyphenylcalics [4] pyrogalolarene on skin of albino rabbits. Indones J Pharmacol Ther. 2020;1(1):15-21. doi: 10.22146/ijpther.480.

47. Irsan MA, Manggav E, Pakki U. Irritation test of antioxidant cream containing longan seed extract (Euphoria longana stend) on rabbit skin (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Maj Farm Dan Farmakol. 2013;17(2):55-60.

48. Banerjee S, Chattopadhyay P, Ghosh A, Pathak MP, Singh S, Veer V. Acute dermal irritation sensitization and acute toxicity studies of a transdermal patch for prophylaxis against ({±}) anatoxin-a poisoning. Int J Toxicol. 2013;32(4):308-13. doi: 10.1177/1091581813489996, PMID 23696561.

49. Dewantara IG, Jemmy IG, Nntan P, Damips A, Prabayanti NP. In vivo evaluation of erythema and edema induced by 10% sodium lauryl sulfate. J Farm Udayana. 2015;4(2):55-60.

50. Patrick E, Maibach HI. Comparison of the time course, dose response and mediators of chemically induced skin irritation in three species. In: Frosch P, Dooms Goossens A, Lachapelle JM, Rycroft RJ, Scheper RJ, editors. Current topics in contact dermatitis. Germany: Springer; 1989. p. 399-403. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-74299-6_81.

51. Lu FC. Toksikologi dasar: asas organ sasaran dan penilaian resiko. Edisi II. Jakarta: Penerbit Universitas Indonesia; 1995. p. 428.

52. Mulyanti GD, Nurhayati Y, Ariska A. Evaluation of hair growth effects of hir tonic formulation from yardlong bean leaf extract (Vigna sinensis (L.) Savi ex Hassk) on male rabbits. Wellness Heal Mag. 2019;1(2):285-94.

53. Murphrey MB, Agarwal S, Zito PM. Anatomy hair. StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022.

54. Ittiqo DH, Jeniti P, Hati MP, Nurbaety B, Wahid AR. Uji aktivitas hair tonic madu kombinasi ekstrak daun seledri (Apium graveolens Linn) terhadap pertumbuhan rambut kelinci Jantan. Lumbung Farmasi: Jurnal Ilmu Kefarmasian. 2022;3(1):55. doi: 10.31764/lf.v3i1.7406.

55. Noviani V, Thauresia S, Simanjuntak P. Uji aktivitastonik rambut yang mengandung fraksi air yang mengandung flavonoid dari ekstrak etanol daun teh hijau (Camellia sinensis L.). FARM. 2019;6(1):22. doi: 10.47653/farm.v6i1.524.

56. Swarbrick J, Boylan JC. Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Marcel Deker Inc; 2002.

57. Williams AC, Barry BW. Penetration enhancers. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2012;64:128-37. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2012.09.032.

58. Cotsarelis G, Botchkarev V. Biology of hair follicles. Fitzpatricks dermatology in general medicine. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2008. p. 739-49.

59. Erdogan B. Anatomy and physiology of hair. Hair Scalp Disord. 2017;13:1-7. doi: 10.5772/67269.

60. Goldman CK, Tsai JC, Soroceanu L, Gillespie GY. Loss of vascular endothelial growth factor in human alopecia hair follicles. J Invest Dermatol. 1995;104(5)Suppl:18S-20S. doi: 10.1038/jid.1995.40, PMID 7738377.

61. Katagiri W, Watanabe J, Toyama N, Osugi M, Sakaguchi K, Hibi H. Clinical study of bone regeneration by conditioned medium from mesenchymal stem cells after maxillary sinus floor elevation. Implant Dent. 2017;26(4):607-12. doi: 10.1097/ID.0000000000000618, PMID 28727618.

Published

07-01-2026

How to Cite

MARLINA, NOVITA, N., & ANDAYANI, R. (2026). THE EFFECT OF HAIR TONIC FROM SECRETOME MESENCHYMAL STEM CELL ON HAIR GROWTH IN HAIR LOSS CASES. International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutics, 18(1), 332–339. https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2026v18i1.52744

Issue

Section

Original Article(s)

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Similar Articles

<< < 76 77 78 79 80 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.