The smell of sandalwood can save you from baldness
The synthetic scent of sandalwood can accelerate hair growth and delay the senescence of hair follicles. To such conclusion the international group of scientists, conducted a series of experiments with the human scalp. The study is published in the journal Nature Communication.
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Olfactory receptors can be found not only in nose but also in other organs, e.g., intestines and kidneys, as well as in keratinocytes — cells of the upper layer of the skin. It is already known that one of these skin olfactory receptor, OR2AT4, is responsible for skin regeneration and activates its scent of sandalwood. When OR2AT4 into the molecules of the substance with the smell of sandalwood, it triggers a complex signaling process, in which the skin cells begin to intensely divide and faster to navigate to the desired location. It is also known that about the same molecular processes take place that the skin grew new hair. Scientists from Germany and the UK decided to find out whether the smell sandalovoe tree not only heal wounds, but also help to grow hair.
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To test their hypothesis, the researchers conducted a series of experiments. They took samples of the scalp from volunteers who have undergone facelift (hair loss is one of the possible complications after this surgery) and placed them in a solution of molecules that carry artificial smell of sandalwood. Six days later, scientists tested the results and found that the hormone responsible for hair growth was produced in the samples on average 25-30% more intense.
In addition, the receptor OR2AT4, if you activate it with the smell of sandalwood, slows the aging of cells associated with hair growth. Scientists discovered this effect by blocking the receptor. The HGH levels in the skin samples immediately fell, and the rate of cell death in hair follicles became, on the contrary, above. In the future, the authors plan to continue research in this direction and to develop a drug for the treatment of baldness based on synthetic scent of sandalwood.