A Novel Combination of Galega officinalis Extract, Hippophae rhamnoides Fruit Oil and Resveratrol Attenuates Bleomycin-Induced Senescence Markers in Human Dermal Fibroblasts and Ex Vivo Hair Follicles

Senescence is an adaptive state activated in cells when external or internal damage exceeds the homeostatic capacity of background resilience mechanisms. It is characterized by a stable cell-cycle arrest, chromatin reorganization, and the acquisition of a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). While senescence can have beneficial roles in tissue repair, the accumulation of senescent cells contributes to inflammation, stem cell dysfunction, and tissue degeneration. In this context, the identification of compounds able to modulate the threshold between tissue resilience and cellular senescence, by partially eliminating senescent cells to preserve tissue function, is a major target of biomedical research. Here, we present a novel ingredient consisting of a combination of Galega officinalis extract, Hippophae rhamnoides fruit oil, and resveratrol (Metforhair®, MFH). We report that MFH partially reduces senescence-associated features, using human primary dermal fibroblasts as an experimental validation model. Consequently, we used ex vivo cultures of human hair follicles to evaluate the ability of MFH to attenuate senescence markers. Our results support the use of MFH as a hair follicle therapy, which modestly reduces hallmarks of cellular senescence.