Gyeonggi-do Forest Environment Research Institute Develops 'Hair Loss Prevention' Product Using Invasive Plant Species

Photo of HwanSamDeongGul product

A hair loss prevention product using 'HwanSamDeongGul,' an invasive species ecosystem found literally everywhere in Korea such as riversides, roadsides, and mountain foothills, has been developed.

The Gyeonggi-do Forest Environment Research Institute announced on the 24th that after more than three years of research on utilizing the invasive species HwanSamDeongGul, they confirmed its hair loss prevention efficacy and completed a new patent application related to "Hair Loss Mitigation and Prevention Using HwanSamDeongGul."

The institute added that they recently produced prototypes of natural hair loss prevention shampoo and natural hair scalp tonic using HwanSamDeongGul and, after conducting human application tests at a private research institute, confirmed effects such as reduced hair loss count, improved scalp elasticity, and increased scalp epidermis thickness.

Accordingly, the institute plans to select a private company to transfer the technology and promote mass production of the products.

The research team extracted polyphenol substances, which can be used as functional materials, from the aerial parts of HwanSamDeongGul. During this process, they found that materials harvested in June contained higher polyphenol content than those harvested in August, and that extraction with alcohol yielded higher polyphenol content than extraction with boiling water.

Polyphenol substances are known for their excellent antioxidant activity that neutralizes and removes reactive oxygen species in the body, thereby inhibiting skin aging acceleration, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and more. Through additional experiments, the research team discovered that polyphenols extracted from HwanSamDeongGul have excellent antioxidant effects and even whitening effects.

Furthermore, after verifying anti-inflammatory and hair loss improvement effects, they revealed that HwanSamDeongGul extract has anti-inflammatory properties and extends the hair survival cycle, leading to the patent application.

HwanSamDeongGul is an annual herbaceous plant of the Polygonaceae family, mainly distributed in Northeast Asia regions such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Amur, and Ussuri. It is one of the invasive plants designated by the Ministry of Environment. It is a vine-like annual plant commonly growing in disturbed fields, with rough main stems and petioles covered with small thorns that crawl on the ground or cover other plants. The leaves grow opposite on the stem, divided into 5 to 7 palm-shaped lobes at the end of the petiole, with coarse hairs on both sides.

Every year, it covers mountain foothills, forest roads, fields, and riversides nationwide, adversely affecting ecosystems. There are opinions that fundamental measures are needed as budgets are spent on its removal.

Seok Yong-hwan, director of the Gyeonggi-do Forest Environment Research Institute, said, "The most efficient way to remove invasive plants is to promote consumption as materials through the development of uses," adding, "We plan to continuously pursue research on utilization methods and commercialization of invasive plants such as HwanSamDeongGul in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.