METHOD FOR EVALUATION OF HAIR GROWTH-PROMOTING ACTIVITY, AND METHOD FOR SCREENING OF SUBSTANCE CAPABLE OF PROMOTING THE HAIR GROWTH, AND HAIR GROWTH PROMOTER

摘要

Disclosed is a method for evaluating a hair growth-promoting activity of a substance of interest. Also disclosed is a method for searching and obtaining (i.e., screening) a novel hair growth-promoting substance by employing the aforementioned method. Further disclosed is use of a substance that is evaluated as having a hair growth-promoting activity by the aforementioned evaluation method as a hair growth promoter. The evaluation method can be achieved by a process comprising the following steps: (1) transdermally administering a substance of interest to a non-human animal and measuring the activity of a dermal arterial sympathetic nerve in the non-human animal; and optionally (2) determining that the substance has a hair growth-promoting activity when the activity of the dermal arterial sympathetic nerve in the non-human animal which has been administered with the substance is decreased compared with that in the non-human animal which has not been administered with the substance. According to the methods, it is found that linalool, geraniol, citral, citral dimethyl acetal, α-terpineol and terpinen-4-ol have a hair growth-promoting activity.