An integrative review on the treatment of alopecia with medicinal plants, phytotherapy and dietary supplements

Abstract

Alopecia is a condition characterized by the reduction of hair or hair that has physical and psychological implications for the individual. This integrative literature review investigates available clinical studies on the use of medicinal plants, herbal medicines and/or dietary supplements in the treatment of alopecia. As databases were used: Pubmed, Medline, Web of Science and SciELO. As a search strategy for original articles, the descriptors were used: [(alopecia OR baldness OR "hair loss") AND ("Medicinal Plants" OR "Pharmaceutical Plants" OR "Dietary Supplements" OR Nutraceuticals OR "Herbal Supplements") AND (Placebo OR "Effect placebo") AND (hair)]. The inclusion criteria used were randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies, without limitation of date or language, available in full, which included medicinal plants, medicinal herbs and food supplements as an intervention. Exclusion criteria were duplicate studies, not available in full and that included non-vegetable food supplements as an intervention. It was found that the studies addressed alopecia in both sexes, with interventions applied in the form of topical and oral use. Among the species used were verified: Allium sativum, Curcuma aeruginosa, Oryza sativa L. variety japônica, Rosmarinus officinalis, among others. It should be noted that additional studies in the area are still needed. One limitation is the lack of approach to the chemical-pharmaceutical aspects of the species used (quali-quantitative analyses), since they are fundamental for the quality control of plant extracts and, consequently, for reproducible therapeutic properties.