HAIR GROWTH–PROMOTING EFFECT OF L. ESCULENTUM EXTRACT 437 When the quantity of VEGF of mouse skin tissue treated with the test hair tonic product that contained 3% LTS or 3% minoxidil was evaluated, the amount of RT-PCR product- treated hair tonic with LTS was lower by 42.31% and 3.85% than that in the NC and PC, respectively. In KGF, the amount of RT-PCR products was higher by 41.67% and 133.33% than that in the NC and PC, respectively. In IGF-1, the amount of RT-PCR products was higher by 17.86% than that in the NC, and higher by 257.14% than that in the PC, respectively. In TGF-β, the amount of RT-PCR products was lower by 45.84% than that in the NC and lower by 15.28% than that in the PC, respectively (Fig. 6). ANAGEN INDUCTION AND HAIR RESTORATION OF FEMALE C57BL/6 MICE BY TEST HAIR TONIC PRODUCT WITH 3% LTS The morphological structure of the skin, obtained from a longitudinal section of the dorsal skin is shown in Fig. 7. In NC, early anagen was observed. Further, dyeing by toluidine blue was slightly observed in the epidermal cells of hair follicles undergoing anagen induction and Figure 5. Hair growth index of C57BL/6 mice after topical application of hair tonic product with 3% LTS for 4 weeks. Group 1: NC (10% ethanol) group 2: THT (tonic product with 3% LTS) group 3: PC (3% minoxidil). Figure 6. Comparison of (A) VEGF, (B) KGF, (C) IGF-1, and (D) TGF-β expression in C57BL/6 mice after topical application of experimental materials, NC: negative control (10% ethanol as a vehicle), THT (hair tonic with 3% LTS), PC: positive control (3% minoxidil) for 4 weeks. *p 0.05, **p 0.01 compared with control.

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE 438 in growing hair follicles. Otherwise, 3% minoxidil (PC) showed most hair follicles were fully induced and growing into the subcutaneous region. In addition, the staining by toluidine blue was distinctly observed in the growing inner and outer root sheaths of the hair bulb. Findings with the 3% LTS-treated samples were very similar to the minoxidil control. However, in the test hair tonic experiment, the anagen induction rate for the 3% LTS product was slower than that of the minoxidil control, but greater than that of the NC (Fig. 7). DRAIZE SKIN IRRITATION STUDY The test hair tonic with 3% LTS showed no signs of irritation on abraded or intact back skin of two male NZW rabbits at 24 or 72 h after treatment (Fig. 8). LYCOPENE QUANTIFICATION OF L. ESCULENTUM EXTRACT We used HPLC to confi rm the lycopene quantifi cation of the 3% LTS. Lycopene was identifi ed by comparing the retention times of the pigment in the extraction mixture with those of respective standard compounds (Sigma products). The HPLC chromato- gram is shown in Fig. 9. When the area of the lycopene peak was calculated and compared with standard compounds, the all-trans-lycopene and cis-lycopene content of 3% LTS was 3.63 and 1.65 μg/ml, respectively. DISCUSSION There are various forms of alopecia, the most common being “AGA,” which affects mil- lions of men and women. For both men and women, AGA may begin as early as the teen Figure 7. Hematoxylin–eosin (A–C) and toluidine blue (D–F) staining of the skin sections. The NC: nega- tive control (10% ethanol as a vehicle A, D), test hair tonic product contained 3% LTS (B, E) or 3% min- oxidil (C, F) were applied topically on the back skin of the mice, once a day for 4 weeks. Magnifi cation: ×200.