Fructus Sophorae Extract Generated Using the Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent ChCl Urea Activates Wnt/β Catenin and cAMP/MITF Signaling to Stimulate Hair Growth and Pigmentation
- 1Division of Life Science, Centre for Chinese Medicine, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
- 2Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Edible and Medicinal Bioresources, HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China
Abstract
Androgenetic alopecia remains challenging to treat, with limited FDA-approved therapies. Natural products, such as the fruit of Sophora japonica L. (Fructus Sophorae), could be alternatives. This study developed a green extraction method using natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) coupled with ultrasonic assistance to recover active phytochemicals from Fructus Sophorae and evaluated the extract for promoting hair growth and melanogenic activities. Among ten NADES formulations, ChCl-Urea (1:2) with 40% water content, named CU-40, generated the highest yield of sophoricoside (8.79 mg/g), surpassing that of 70% ethanol by ~25%. In dermal papilla cells, this extract activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling, upregulated downstream targets, such as β-catenin, AXIN2, LEF-1, ALP, and IGF-1, and induced GSK3β phosphorylation. In B16 melanoma, the extract of Fructus Sophorae stimulated cAMP signaling, enhanced MITF promoter activity, and increased melanin production. In an ex vivo mouse vibrissae hair follicle culture, the extract promoted mouse vibrissae hair follicle growth. These findings establish CU-40 as a sustainable, efficient NADES solvent for Fructus Sophorae that yields a bioactive extract promoting hair growth and pigmentation via the Wnt/β-catenin and cAMP/MITF pathways.
Related
- Targeting P2Y₁₄R inhibits proliferation of cervical cancer cells and organoids and activates cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway.
- Inhibiting MD2 activates AMPK-dependent PPARγ/NOX4 signaling to attenuate mitochondrial oxidative stress and relieve pulmonary hypertension
- Postprandial hypertriglyceridemia activates microglia to promote satiety via an ASC dependent signaling.
- Dihydroquercetin Activates AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α Signaling to Attenuate Arsenic Trioxide-Induced Apoptosis and Ferroptosis in AC16 Cells and HUVECs
- QUERCETIN DISRUPTS NUCLEAR FACTOR ERYTHROID 2–RELATED FACTOR 2 SURVIVAL SIGNALING AND ACTIVATES A PRO-APOPTOTIC MICRORNA PROGRAM IN ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA
BibTeX
@article{yuen2026fructus,
title = {{Fructus Sophorae Extract Generated Using the Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent ChCl Urea Activates Wnt/β Catenin and cAMP/MITF Signaling to Stimulate Hair Growth and Pigmentation}},
author = {Gary Ka-Wing Yuen and Yinzhi Li and Tina Ting-Xia Dong and Karl Wah-Keung Tsim},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27198781},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13664810},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fructus Sophorae Extract Generated Using the Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent ChCl Urea Activates Wnt/β Catenin and cAMP/MITF Signaling to Stimulate Hair Growth and Pigmentation
AU - Gary Ka-Wing Yuen
AU - Yinzhi Li
AU - Tina Ting-Xia Dong
AU - Karl Wah-Keung Tsim
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - International journal of molecular sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27198781
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13664810
AB - Androgenetic alopecia remains challenging to treat, with limited FDA-approved therapies. Natural products, such as the fruit of Sophora japonica L. (Fructus Sophorae), could be alternatives. This study developed a green extraction method using natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) coupled with ultrasonic assistance to recover active phytochemicals from Fructus Sophorae and evaluated the extract for promoting hair growth and melanogenic activities. Among ten NADES formulations, ChCl-Urea (1:2) with 40% water content, named CU-40, generated the highest yield of sophoricoside (8.79 mg/g), surpassing that of 70% ethanol by ~25%. In dermal papilla cells, this extract activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling, upregulated downstream targets, such as β-catenin, AXIN2, LEF-1, ALP, and IGF-1, and induced GSK3β phosphorylation. In B16 melanoma, the extract of Fructus Sophorae stimulated cAMP signaling, enhanced MITF promoter activity, and increased melanin production. In an ex vivo mouse vibrissae hair follicle culture, the extract promoted mouse vibrissae hair follicle growth. These findings establish CU-40 as a sustainable, efficient NADES solvent for Fructus Sophorae that yields a bioactive extract promoting hair growth and pigmentation via the Wnt/β-catenin and cAMP/MITF pathways.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -