- Too much can cause ulcers. Some posters at another forum reported a shedding of hair while taking over a gram a day. A possible reason for this:
"In organ culture, TRPV1 activation by capsaicin resulted in a dose-dependent and TRPV1-specific inhibition of hair shaft elongation, suppression of proliferation, induction of apoptosis, premature HF regression (catagen), and up-regulation of intrafollicular transforming growth factor-ß2.
Cultured human ORS keratinocytes also expressed functional TRPV1, whose stimulation inhibited proliferation, induced apoptosis, elevated intracellular calcium concentration, up-regulated known endogenous hair growth inhibitors (interleukin-1ß, transforming growth factor-ß2), and down-regulated known hair growth promoters (hepatocyte growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-I, stem cell factor)."
-
Cayenne pepper is inexpensive.
-
The above notwithstanding, it seems those hair loss sufferers may benefit from a combination of capsaicin and isoflavone. The following was contributed by Rooster: "Cayenne pepper at 3 to 4 grams a day along with a pill of soy isoflavones. The study that came out reported that 88 percent of the study participants had hair growth. Here are two studies, each one supports the other!
This study identifies some unique, rarely elucidated mechanisms by which capsaicin, a constituent of cayenne pepper, combined with soy, can stimulate hair growth.
Growth Horm IGF Res. 2007 Jun 12; [Epub ahead of print] Administration of capsaicin and isoflavone promotes hair growth by increasing insulin-like growth factor-I production in mice and in humans with alopecia. Harada N, Okajima K, Arai M, Kurihara H, Nakagata N.
Department of Translational Medical Science Research, Nagoya City University, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kawasumi 1, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan.
OBJECTIVE: Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) plays an important role in hair growth. Capsaicin activates vanilloid receptor-1, thereby increasing the release of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) from sensory neurons, and CGRP has been shown to increase IGF-I production. We recently reported that isoflavone, a phytoestrogen, increases production of CGRP by increasing its transcription in sensory neurons. These observations raise the possibility that administration of capsaicin and isoflavone might promote hair growth by increasing IGF-I production. In the present study, we examined this possibility in mice and humans with alopecia. DESIGN: Dermal IGF-I levels, immunohistochemical expression of IGF-I in the skin and hair regrowth were examined after capsaicin and isoflavone administration to wild-type (WT) mice and CGRP-knockout mice. Plasma levels of IGF-I and promotion of hair growth were evaluated in 48 volunteers with alopecia after administration of capsaicin and isoflavone for 5months. RESULTS: Subcutaneous administration of capsaicin significantly increased dermal IGF-I levels at 30min after administration in WT mice (p<0.01), but not in CGRP-knockout mice. Dermal levels of IGF-I were significantly higher in WT mice administered capsaicin and isoflavone for 4wks than in those administered capsaicin alone for 4wks (p<0.01) and in those administered neither of them (p<0.01). Immunohistochemical expression of IGF-I at dermal papillae in hair follicles was increased in WT mice administered capsaicin and isoflavone and in those administered capsaicin alone at 4wks. Hair regrowth was clearly more accelerated in WT mice administered capsaicin and isoflavone for 4wks than in those administered capsaicin alone for 4wks and in those administered neither of them. Plasma levels of IGF-I were significantly increased from baseline levels in 31 volunteers with alopecia at 5months after oral administration of capsaicin (6mg/day) and isoflavone (75mg/day) (p<0.01), while they were not increased in 17 volunteers with alopecia administered placebo. The number of volunteers with alopecia who showed promotion of hair growth at 5months after administration was significantly higher among volunteers administered capsaicin and isoflavone (20/31: 64.5%) than among those administered placebo (2/17: 11.8%) (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These observations strongly suggested that combined administration of capsaicin and isoflavone might increase IGF-I production in hair follicles in the skin, thereby promoting hair growth. Such effects of capsaicin and isoflavone might be mediated by sensory neuron activation in the skin.
Note: "Twenty-five people with Androgenetic Alopecia were included in the volunteers with alopecia who were administered capsaicin and isoflavone in the present study and promotion of hair growth was observed in 88.0% of the 25 patients with AGA.
The recommended amount of cayenne pepper would be 1-3 grams, and the recommended amount of soy would be 1 capsule of Super Absorbable Soy Isoflavones,(approximately doubling the amount of isoflavones used in this study) for those looking to replicate this study for personal use. Cayenne pepper is widely and inexpensively available at most nutrition stores.
Cayenne Pepper may be much more than a health promoting circulation enhancer and analgesic. Published studies strongly imply that it likely counteracts hair loss due to its effects on the endocannabinoid system.
The endocannabinoid system refers to a group of neuromodulators (Kreitzer and Regehr, 2001; Maejima et al, 2001) and their receptors that are involved in a variety of physiological processes including appetite, pain-sensation, mood, memory and evidently hair loss. It is named for endocannabinoids, the endogenous lipids that bind cannabinoid receptors (the same receptors that mediate the psychoactive effects of cannibis). Broadly speaking, the endocannabinoid system refers to:
• The cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, 2 G-protein coupled receptors primarily located in the central nervous system and periphery.
It has been found that endocannabinoids inhibit hair growth, especially during periods of stress, via the CB1 receptor. The following study identifies that specific mechanism:
Inhibition of human hair follicle growth by endo- and exocannabinoids
Andrea Telek, Tamás Bíró, Enik Bodó, Balázs I. Tóth, István Borbíró, George Kunos and Ralf Paus
Recent studies strongly suggest that the cannabinoid system is a key player in cell growth control. Since the organ-culture of human hair follicles (HF) offers an excellent, clinically relevant model for complex tissue interaction systems, we have asked whether the cannabinoid system plays a role in hair growth control. Here, we show that human scalp HF, intriguingly, are both targets and sources of endocannabinoids. Namely, the endocannabinoid N-arachidonoylethanolamide (anandamide, AEA) as well as the exocannabinnoid (9) -tetrahydrocannabinol dose-dependently inhibited hair shaft elongation and the proliferation of hair matrix keratinocytes, and induced intraepithelial apoptosis and premature HF regression (catagen).These effects were inhibited by a selective antagonist of cannabinoid receptor-1 (CB1). In contrast to CB2, CB1 was expressed in a hair cycle-dependent manner in the human HF epithelium. Since we successfully identified the presence of endocannabinoids in human HF, our data strongly suggest that human HF exploit a CB1-mediated endocannabinoid signaling system for negatively regulating their own growth. Clinically, CB1 agonists may therefore help to manage unwanted hair growth,while CB1 antagonists might counteract hair loss. Finally, human HF organ culture offers an instructive, physiologically relevant new research tool for dissecting “nonclassical” effects of endocannabinoids and their receptor-mediated signaling in general.—Telek, A., Bíró, T., Bodó, E., Tóth, B. I., Borbíró, I.Cayenne Pepper is the only natural CB1 blocker known and this mechanism may account for its apparent hair growth stimulation effects, especially when orally consumed with Soy Isoflavone extracts. Cayenne pepper has profoundly beneficial effects for certain types of heart disease and is considered curative for certain types of cancer.
Editor’s Comment: Cayenne would be indicated not only for androgenetic hair loss treatment in general, but particularly useful during periods of stress, due to the heightened activation of these receptors. The patented combination of Resveratrol /Curcumin also directly targets this type of stress induced, (termed neurogenic) hair loss.
Cayenne Pepper is available in any supermarket or health food store. 4/5 of a teaspoon, or 4 grams, orally consumed, would yield an equivalent amount used in the following Soy/Cayenne study."
