Potential hair growth of crude extract from Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn

The Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn. (HRS), the national flower of Malaysia, is famous for its use in various traditional medicine. However, its usage as an activating agent has not received much attention it deserved. Therefore, this study was directed towards the use of HRS for hair growth as a substitute for the present commercially available drug. In this work, petroleum ether was used to extract both leaves and flowers of HRS. Its potential for hair growth was evaluated in vivo. One percent crude extract of leaves and flowers of HRS in liquid paraffin was applied topically over the shaved rats of Dawley Sprague. The rats were monitored and assessed for growth of hair for 42 days. The results for the study were divided into two parts namely the hair length was determined in vivo and the histology study of the shaved area of rats. From this study, it was concluded that the leaf extract exhibited more potential for hair growth compared to the flower component. This finding is promising and serves as a potential substitute for the usage of HRS extract in hair growth treatment. In addition, being a natural product further adds its benefit as compared to synthetic chemicals which may cause harmful side effects to the consumers.