Study shows coffee berry extract could have anti-aging, hair loss potential

A recent study published in Cosmetics, written by Nisakorn Saewan out of Thailand, sought to define the mechanisms by which coffee berry extract may work as a skin anti-aging and anti-hair loss active ingredient.

While Saewan notes that previous research has explored the impacts of coffee extract and there are cosmetics on the market containing the ingredient, research is light on the specific effects of the extract’s two main compounds, caffeine and chlorogenic acid.

“Our findings confirmed that coffee berry extract has high potential to be used as an active ingredient for skin anti-aging, anti-hair loss and hair growth stimulation in not only skincare but also hair care product applications,”​ Saewan said.

Here are the study’s findings in those three key areas.

Skin anti-aging effects

Saewan said previous studies have shown that coffee berry extract and chlorogenic acid specifically have shown promise in improving human dermal fibroblast cells, which are involved in wound healing and rejuvenating skin in anti-aging.

The study found that chlorogenic acid showed higher antioxidant activity than caffeine, which Saewan connects to studies showing that phenolic compounds like chlorogenic acid are “good free radical scavengers.”

Antioxidant activity is often important in anti-aging formulation in order to fight oxidative stress and photo-induced skin aging symptoms.

Saewan also evaluated the collagenase inhibition of coffee berry extract, which they said has been associated with preventing loss of elasticity in aging skin. Both caffeine and chlorogenic acid showed good metrics in collagenase inhibition, but the coffee berry extract before 10% to 20% respectively.

Anti-hair loss and hair growth effects

Both in their own study and in previous studies, Saewan reported that coffee berry extract and caffeine alone showed promise in the proliferation of papilla cells, which are associated with increasing the anagen phase of hair growth.

This phase increases hair density and reduces hair loss, Saewan said

Saewan said their research also showed that caffeine and chlorogenic acid were able to reduce the activity of a compound that turns testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, shortening the anagen phase.

Caffeine had previously been known to inhibit this activity, but the researcher said both the coffee berry extract and chlorogenic acid performed better.

The study also found that both caffeine and chlorogenic acid may influence hair growth by affecting several hair growth genes, though the compound did not affect all key hair growth factors.

Saewan added that coffee berry extract may have potential as a hair growth active through promoting the expression of mRNA for several key genes

Author: N. Saewan​

Source: Cosmetics​

Cosmetics 2022, 9(3), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics9030066​​

Title: Effect of Coffee Berry Extract on Anti-Aging for Skin and Hair—In Vitro Approach​