Annurca Apple Shown to Improve Patterned Hair Loss

Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Annurca apple extract is a powerful antioxidant that stimulates hair follicles to engage in fatty acid oxidation, generate ATP, and prevent amino-acid catabolism, thus enabling keratin production. 

According to the American Academy of Dermatology millions of men and women suffer from hereditary hair loss ¹. Worldwide it is estimated patterned hair loss affects around 50% of the adult population ². This can have a negative impact on quality of life ^2,3 and even lead to depression in younger sufferers ^2,4. A recent study found supplementing Annurca Apple polyphenol extract stimulates hair growth by increasing keratin production ².

Annurca is an apple variety of Southern Italy that has one of the highest contents of Procyanidin B2, a flavonoid. It has been shown that oral supplementation of Annurca polyphenolic extracts stimulates hair growth, hair number, hair weight and keratin content in healthy human subjects, but it was not understood how it worked. For this reason researchers performed a study on mice treated topically with Annurca polyphenolic extracts to determine how it works ².

In the research C57BL/6 unshaven male mice (7-weeks old) received a topical treatment of foam containing Annurca polyphenolic extracts or a placebo foam twice a week for 4-weeks. The dosage used corresponded to 2-4mL of foam for an adult human scalp. After 4-weeks of treatment the mice were sacrificed and their dorsal skin immediately used for studying ².

Hair follicles of mice treated with placebo were mostly in Telogen (rest)/Anagen I phase (growth), while mice treated with Annurca polyphenolic extracts had longer hair follicles, located closer to the surface and mostly in Anagen II phase (growth) and some in Anagen III phase. Compared to the placebo the treated hair follicles also showed increased Sulfur and thus keratin content ².

Hair follicles have one of the fastest rates of cell division in the body and hair follicles obtain energy by converting glucose into lactate ^2,5. Topical treatment with Annurca polyphenolic extracts significantly changed the levels of 18 key intracellular metabolites, including the significant increase of glucose, glutamine, glycine and intermediate ribulose 5P ². This all suggests that Annurca polyphenolic extract supports nucleotide biosynthesis, meaning in helps produce DNA and RNA ². Mitochondria activity was also increased in the treated hair follicles ².

In conclusion, this study helped to understand the effect of Annurca polyphenolic extracts and how they increase hair growth. It was observed that the Annurca polyphenolic extracts greatly affected the mitochondria of the hair follicles, increased metabolites that increased nucleotide biosynthesis and ultimately increased keratin production.

Source: Badolati, Nadia, Eduardo Sommella, Gennaro Riccio, Emanuela Salviati, Dimitri Heintz, Sara Bottone, Emery Di Cicco et al. “Annurca Apple Polyphenols Ignite Keratin Production in Hair Follicles by Inhibiting the Pentose Phosphate Pathway and Amino Acid Oxidation.” Nutrients 10, no. 10 (2018): 1406.

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Posted March 27, 2019.

Jessica Patella, ND, is a naturopathic physician specializing in nutrition and homeopathic medicine and offers a holistic approach to health. She earned her ND from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ, and is a member of the North Carolina Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Visit her website at www.awarenesswellness.com.

References:

1. Dermatology AAo. Hair Loss: Overview. 2018; Overview of hair loss. Available at: https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-and-scalp-problems/hair-loss. Accessed March 18, 2019, 2019.
2. Badolati N, Sommella E, Riccio G, et al. Annurca Apple Polyphenols Ignite Keratin Production in Hair Follicles by Inhibiting the Pentose Phosphate Pathway and Amino Acid Oxidation. Nutrients. 2018;10(10).
3. Sonthalia S, Daulatabad D, Tosti A. Hair restoration in androgenetic alopecia: looking beyond minoxidil, finasteride and hair transplantation. Journal of Cosmetology & Trichology. 216;2:1-13.
4. Cash TF. The psychological effects of androgenetic alopecia in men. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1992;26(6):926-931.
5. Williams R, Philpott MP, Kealey T. Metabolism of freshly isolated human hair follicles capable of hair elongation: a glutaminolytic, aerobic glycolytic tissue. The Journal of investigative dermatology. 1993;100(6):834-840.