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Hair Loss News Archives
July 2005
Cosmo Oil to commercialize hair growth tonic made of amino acid
Cosmo Oil Co. and a group of researchers said Saturday they
are jointly working to commercialize a hair growth tonic made of a type of amino
acid.
According to Cosmo Oil officials, their prospective product would contain
5-aminolevulinic acid, which the oil distributor has sold as a plant fertilizer
since 1999.
The company said combining the amino acid, which can be found in plants and
animals, with iron and other substances can increase its effectiveness as a
hair-growth catalyst.
A group of researchers led by Yoshiyasu Ito, a lecturer at National Defense
Medical College, tested the amino acid on laboratory mice and observed the
difference in hair growth after three weeks.
The hair grew 2 millimeters with the substance against 0.5 mm growth using hair
growth products already available in the market, the company said.
Ito said he believes the amino acid was absorbed by the roots of the hair, and
turned into a compound that supplied energy to cells, promoting hair growth.
Cosmo Oil and the researchers plan to tie up with pharmaceutical companies to
market the tonic.