PRECLINICAL EVALUATION OF CROTON OIL FORMULATIONS FOR ITS HAIR GROWTH POTENTIAL

Traditionally, Croton tiglium seed oil is reported to be very effective for hair loss. Thus, the aim is to study the effectiveness of Croton tiglium with different oils in the treatment of alopecia. The study will help develop the pharmacological profile of herbal formulation, which is being reported scientifically for the first time. The herbal formulations (formulation1, formulation2, formulation3) were formulated by mixing croton oil with olive oil and pure coconut oil. For the primary irritation test, 1 ml quantity of formulations was applied over the respective test sites of one side of the spine. The test sites were observed for erythema and edema for 48 hours after application. A physical parameter study was done for hair length, density, and quantitative histomorphometric studies. Biochemical estimation was done using different biochemical parameters; this oil was applied on shaved skin area of rats for 21 days once a day and hair length, serum total protein, and total testosterone were measured. From observation and results, it can be concluded that all the 3 formulations have potential hair growth activity, however; formulation 3 was observed to be more potent than other formulations in promoting hair growth. Since, all the formulations in the present investigation show good hair growth promotion activity. Hence, the study will act as the source of referential data that will be useful for performing human trails on these formulations’ hair growth promotion activity.