Research work of Prof. De-Eknamkul, including the mechanistic synergy of hair growth promotion by the Avicennia marina extract and its active constituent (avicequinone C) in dermal papilla cells isolated from androgenic alopecia patients

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a genetically-predetermined disorder that affects many people around the world, leading to progressive hair loss. This baldness can negatively impact people’s perceptions of themselves and scientists are searching for a cure. There are only two US Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs used to treat AGA and they both have side effects. If a natural anti-AGA product could be developed with the ability to be effective minus negative side effects, this could be a game-changer for people with AGA. Professor Wanchai De-Eknamkul, Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, an expert in plant natural product biotechnology, is working to develop a natural anti-AGA product. He is a professor at the University’s Natural Product Biotechnology Research Unit, where research is underway to: elucidate the biosynthesis of bioactive natural products by searching for enzymes and genes involved in their biosynthetic pathways; discover bioactive natural compounds from medicinal plants by either enzyme-based or cell-based screening followed by studying their mechanism of actions; and develop high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) as a tool for quick screening and identification of bioactive compounds. De-Eknamkul have been working to shed light on the genes and enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of the diterpenoid ‘plaunotol’ in Croton stellatopilosus. In another line of investigation, they are searching for natural compounds with anti-AGA and anti-grey hair activities and a further area of focus is the development of a technique for direct detection of compounds with anti-diabetes, anti-gonorrhoea and anti-AGA activities.