Raspberry ketone, also known as rheosmin, is a natural phenolic compound extracted from red raspberries. Rasberry ketone is famous for its alleged weight loss properties. Research shows that when applied on the scalp, it may lead to increased hair growth. Raspberry ketone was found to regulate the metabolism and affected a hormone named adiponectin.
A study on the effects of adiponectin on cultured hair follicles showed that adiponectin enhances the production of various growth factors such as Insulin-like growth factors (IGF-1). These growth factors promote the growth of hair follicles (Won et al., 2012). A Japanese research group analyzed the effects of raspberry ketone on bald humans and mice separately. When a cream of only 0.01% raspberry ketone was applied on the scalp of bald humans, it resulted in an increase in hair growth among 5 of the 10 subjects suffering from alopecia, after 5 months of daily topical application. While in mice an increase in production of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) was observed after 30 minutes of topical application of 0.01% raspberry ketone (Harada, 2008).
REFERENCES Harada, N., Okajima, K., Narimatsu, N., Kurihara, H., & Nakagata, N. (2008). Effect of topical application of raspberry ketone on dermal production of insulin-like growth factor-I in mice and on hair growth and skin elasticity in humans. Growth Hormone & IGF Research, 18(4), 335-344. Won, H., Kang, S. M., Shin, M. J., Oh, J., Hong, N., Park, S., & Chung, N. (2012). Plasma adiponectin concentration and its association with metabolic syndrome in patients with heart failure. Yonsei medical journal, 53(1), 91-98.
