Revisiting Gray Hair
Researchers are digging deeper into the mechanisms that lead to gray hair: "Going gray is caused by a massive build up of hydrogen peroxide due to wear and tear of our hair follicles. The peroxide winds up blocking the normal synthesis of melanin, our hair's natural pigment. ... All of our hair cells make a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide, but as we get older, this little bit becomes a lot. We bleach our hair pigment from within, and our hair turns gray and then white. ... the build up of hydrogen peroxide was caused by a reduction of an enzyme that breaks up hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen (catalase). ... hair follicles could not repair the damage caused by the hydrogen peroxide because of low levels of enzymes that normally serve this function (MSR A and B). Further complicating matters, the high levels of hydrogen peroxide and low levels of MSR A and B, disrupt the formation of an enzyme (tyrosinase) that leads to the production of melanin in hair follicles. ... The researchers speculate that a similar breakdown in the skin could be the root cause of vitiligo."
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090223131123.htm
It is now December of 2019. Gray hair has not yet been resolved. See quotes from recent article below.Ive started taking apicynin.
https://synapse.koreamed.org/DOIx.php?id=10.5607/en.2017.26.4.195
the topic of this review will focus on superoxide produced by activation of the NADPH oxidase (NOX).
inhibition of NOX can potentially reduce the amount of superoxide generated
downstream products of superoxide also include hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorous acid, the reactive agent in bleach.
Perhaps the most widely NOX inhibitor in experimental stroke is apocynin, also known as acetovanillone. Apocynin is a naturally occurring organic compound, originally derived from the root of Canadian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) and Picrorhiza kurroa, a medicinal herb that has been used for centuries by the Chinese and South Asians to treat inflammatory diseases
Previous our lab reported that a dose of 2.5 mg/kg given just prior to reperfusion, or 1.5 hours after ischemic stroke, resulted in reduced infarct size and improved neurological outcome while markedly suppressing superoxide generation in the brain [54]. However, at higher doses (3.75 and 5 mg/kg), apocynin showed no benefit, and actually increased the severity of brain hemorrhage. Thus, this rather narrow therapeutic dose range may limit its translation to the clinical level.
So, is it possible that low doses of apocynin can inhibit nox, therefore inhibiting superoxide, therefore inhibiting hydrogen peroxide, therefore inhibiting gray hair?
One caveat, article also stated :
it was observed that supplementation with thiol provided either as glutathione or cysteine prevents the inhibitory effect of apocynin on the NOX. Apocynin dimer formation may be responsible for its delayed inhibitory property [52]. It has been suggested that this dimer is what blocks NOX activity ( I mean who doesn't take nac or glutathione? would taking 12 hours apart help??)
Another common ant skin aging supplement was mentioned in the article - honokiol
Other natural compounds of NOX inhibitor are honokiol and plumbagin. Honokiol was isolated from the herb Magnolia officinalis and has been of particular interest because this compound appears to inhibit superoxide production after the respiratory burst and not before the enzyme is activated as with other inhibitors