by Finding in hair follicles could one day lead to new treatments for unwanted hair, experts said.
Scientists said that adding a frequent sweetener to flavor receptors in hair follicles seemed to prevent hair growth in laboratory tests.
There are “limited treatments” for people with excess hair on the NHS, and private care can be “costly” with the “variable success”, said hair experts.
It is to be hoped that one day the new finding could lead to a new “medication -free” treatment for unwanted hair.
A new study published in the British Journal of Dermatology examined taste receptors in hair follicles.
The most common are connected to the detection of flavors in the mouth, but these receptors also have other functions in the entire body – including the regulation of the immune system, metabolism and reproduction.
The researchers found that humane scalps, the tiny “biofactories” that produce hair, show a fully functional bitter taste receptor called TAS2R4.
They found that this receptor can also be stimulated with a natural sweetener called Rebaudioside A (Reb a), which is taken from the Stevia Rebaudiana plant -also known as a candleaf plant.
This seemed to suppress the growth of human headhaders under laboratory conditions.
This occurred by reducing the cell division in her hair follicle and the stimulation of a “strong growth factor, which is known that he stops hair growth”.
“Our study introduces an innovative drug -free strategy on how we may suppress undesirable hair growth in the future,” wrote the authors from Germany and the USA.
The main author of the study, Professor Ralf Paus from the University of Miami, said: “Despite the name and historical association with taste buds, receptors taste in unexpected places.
“These results identify specific taste receptors in human hair follicles, show that they are active and that they can be triggered to control hair growth.”
The hair expert Dr. Leila Asfour from the British Association of Dermatologists said: “Hirsutism and hypertrichosis can be very difficult, and people can experience a considerable stigma.
“Only limited treatments are available on the NHS.
“Available treatments such as laser, electrolysis can be quite expensive and several sessions are required depending on the patient characteristics with variable success.”
She added: “The discovery of new receptors, not hormone -related, in hair follicles is fascinating.
“Over time, if we gain a better understanding of these receptors in hair follicles and their role in hair growth, this can describe the basics for the development of new targeted and like the authors” drug-free “treatments.”
Professor John McGrath, editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Dermatology, added: “We do not know exactly that activating these flavor receptors in hair growth in humans-but it is the type of research that could one day lead to a new kind of hair development product.
“So far, research on donated human scalp from hair transplantation and facelift patients has been carried out – an important step has been to determine whether the results in clinical studies on people and not only isolated hair follicles can be repeated.”
