Patent Publication Number: US-2010124577-A1

Title: Composition for the treatment of the hair roots

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a composition for the treatment of the hair roots in order
         to prevent or at least to reduce the loss of hairs,   to restore the growth of the hairs and   to prevent or at least to reduce the formation of white hairs.       

     The present invention is also directed to the use of a composition containing an extract of at least one  Chamomilla  plant and/or of at least one  Achillea  plant for the preparation of a medicament or of a cosmetic for the treatment of the hair roots in order
         to prevent or at least to reduce the loss of hairs,   to restore the growth of the hairs and   to prevent or at least to reduce the formation of white hairs.       

     Furthermore, the present invention is directed to a method for the treatment of the human or animal body suffering under hair root problems, such as loss of hairs and formation of white hairs. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The therapeutic properties of various plants are known for millennia. Even at the moment when the present application has been filed the nature of the effective components and their properties are in many cases only little understood. 
     Among the many plants used for therapeutic purposes  Chamomilla  plants are quite common. 
     There exists a great variety of  Chamomilla  plants which belong to the family of the Asteraceae. A part of the Asteraceae family is the genus  Anthemis.    
       Anthemis nobilis  L. and  Matricaria recutita  L. have found wide-spread therapeutic applications. It is often only a specific part of the  Chamomilla  plants or even an extract thereof which is of interest in therapeutic treatment of a specific disorder and/or of a disease. Such extracts contain the active ingredients of a plant or of a part thereof, often a mixture of the essential oils. 
       Chamomilla  oils can be extracted from the flowers of the  Chamomilla  plants by steam distillation.  Anthemis nobilis  L. yields about 1.7 v/m % of essential oil, and  Matricaria recutita  L. yields about 0.2-0.4 v/m % of essential oil. 
     The essential oil of Roman chamomile ( Matricariae romanae aetheroleum ) is produced from  Anthemis nobilis  L. (Synonym:  Chamaemelum nobile  (L.) All.). The essential oil of Roman chamomile has a sweet, apple-like fragrance and a very light, clear blue colour. Roman chamomile is cultivated for example in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Morocco. 
     The major chemical components of Roman chamomile oil are α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, sabinene, myrcene, 1,8-cineole, γ-terpinene, caryophyllene, propyl angelate and isobutyl angelate. 
     The main therapeutic properties of Roman chamomile oil are the following: antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, carminative, sedative, digestive and vulnerary (Hunnius, Pharmazeutisches Wörterbuch, 7. Auflage; 309; Walter de Gruyter; Berlin; New York 1993 and R. Hänsel, O. Sticher, Pharmakognosie-Phytopharmazie, 8. Auflage, 1066-1068; Springer Medizin Verlag Heidelberg 2007). 
     The essential oil of German chamomile ( Matricariae aetheroleum ) is produced from  Matricaria recutita  L. (Synonym:  Chamomilla recutica  (L.) Rauschert). The essential oil of German chamomile has a sweet, straw-like fragrance and a dark blue colour. German chamomile is cultivated for example in Eastern Europe, in particular Hungary, France and Egypt. The major chemical constituents of German chamomile oil are chamazulene, α-bisabolol, bisabolol oxide A, bisabolol oxide B and bisabolone oxide A. 
     The main therapeutic properties of German chamomile oil are the following: anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, carminative, digestive, sedative, stomachic and vulnerary (Hunnius, Pharmazeutisches Wörterbuch, 7. Auflage; 309; Walter de Gruyter; Berlin; New York 1993 and R. Hänsel, O. Sticher, Pharmakognosie-Phytopharmazie, 8. Auflage, 1132-1133; Springer Medizin Verlag Heidelberg 2007). 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a composition for the treatment of the hair roots in order
         to prevent or at least to reduce the loss of hairs,   to restore the growth of the hairs and   to prevent or at least to reduce the formation of white hairs.       

     It is an object of the present invention to provide a composition comprising the essential oil of  Chamomilla,  preferably the essential oil of  Matricaria recutita  L. ( Matricariae aetheroleum ) and/or of the essential oil of  Anthemis nobilis  L. ( Matricariae romanae aetheroleum ) for the treatment of the hair roots in order
         to prevent or at least to reduce the loss of hairs,   to restore the growth of the hairs and   to prevent or at least to reduce the formation of white hairs.       

     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for the treatment of the human or animal body suffering under hair root problems, such as loss of hairs and formation of white hairs. 
     It is also an object of the present invention to provide the use of said composition for the treatment of the human or animal body suffering under hair root problems, such as loss of hairs and formation of white hairs. 
     These objects are attained with the present invention. 
     The invention is characterized by the characteristics as defined in the independent claims. 
     Preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     It has now surprisingly been found that an extract of at least one  Chamomilla  plant and/or of at least one  Achillea  plant, especially an extract comprising the essential oils of the  Chamomilla  plant and/or of the  Achillea  plant, obtainable for example by steam distillation, is effective,
         to prevent or at least to reduce the loss of hairs,   to restore the growth of the hairs and   to prevent or at least to reduce the formation of white hairs.       

     This extract exhibits a melanogenesis stimulating activity. 
     It was found quite surprisingly, that the treatment of patients suffering under hair root problems, such as loss of hairs and formation of white hairs, with a composition according to the present invention resulted in a reduction of the loss of hairs, in a restoration and in an increase of the growth of the hairs in their original colour. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is based on data obtained using the essential oil of chamomile flower heads, preferably obtainable by steam distillation. Precisely the essential oil is composed of the volatile oil components of the flower heads of Roman chamomile ( Anthemis nobilis  L.). 
     Other suitable  Chamomilla  plants are  Anthemis  species, such as  Anthemis arvensis  L.,  Anthemis cotula  L. and  Anthemis tinctoria  L. 
     Other suitable plants are  Matricaria recutita  L.,  Matricaria discoidea  DC,  Ormenis multicaulis  Br.-BI. &amp; Maire and  Eriocephalus punctulatus  DC. 
     The essential oil or oils may be obtained by any suitable procedure known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The essential oil or oils may be obtained for example by using an aqueous or organic extraction medium or by using a water steam distillation. 
     The essential oil or oils may be separated from other components by means of filtration, chromatography, supercritical fluid extraction etc. 
     The compositions according to the present invention can be formulated by methods known to those skilled in the art. Pharmaceutically acceptable auxiliary agents can be used. 
     The compositions according to the present invention are preferably in a form which is suitable for topical application, especially shampoos, hair tonics, conditioners, pomades, lotions, sprays, liniments, creams, ointments, jellies, solutions, suspensions or patches. 
     The compositions according to the present invention may also be in a form which is suitable for oral application, especially in the form of a capsule. 
     The exact dosage and frequency of administration depend on several factors. For example it was found that the topical application of a liniment, containing 25% of the essential oil of  Anthemis nobilis  L., once a day on the scalp of a patient resulted in a reduction of the loss of hairs, in a restoration and in an increase of the growth of the hairs in their original colour. 
     In the following part are described possible embodiments of the present invention. 
     The following examples illustrate the present invention. 
     EXAMPLES 
     Example 1  
     Liniment with a Composition of 1 Essential Oil 
     437.50 ml  Olivae oleum raffinatum  (PhEur) and 312.50 ml  Amygdalae oleum raffinatum  (PhEur) were mixed together. 250.00 ml  Matricariae romanae aetheroleum  (CAS No.: 8015-92-7) were subsequently added under gentle stirring to the mixture of  Olivae oleum raffinatum  (PhEur) and  Amygdalae oleum raffinatum  (PhEur) until a clear homogeneous liniment of 1000 ml was obtained. 
     Example 2  
     Therapeutic Example Using the Liniment from Example  1 
     The patient was male, 56 years old and had completely white head hairs. 
     His head hairs began to become gradually white when he was 28 years old, and the loss of hairs began when he was 51 years old. 
     His parents and his brothers had also white head hairs. 
     The patient rubbed onto his scalp the liniment according to example 1 in an amount of 15 ml once daily. After one month a part of his hair became black again and the loss of his hair decreased. 
     The treatment was continued for 2 further months. After this treatment period more than half of the patient&#39;s hair turned black. Additionally much new black hairs began to grow. 
     Conclusion 
     Example 2 shows the high therapeutic potential of the compositions of the present invention and their ability to
         to prevent or at least to reduce the loss of hairs,   to restore the growth of the hairs and   to prevent or at least to reduce the formation of white hairs.