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In searching for new information on Pulmonary Fibrosis for a family member, I came across these two interesting articles where the researchers used rosemary as the active ingredient:
The first study:
Prophylactic and curative effect of rosemary leaves extract in a bleomycin model of pulmonary fibrosis
tandfonline .com/doi/full/10.1080/13880209.2016.1247881
Second study:
Rosmarinic acid potentiates carnosic acid induced apoptosis in lung fibroblasts
ncbi .nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5587316/
The conclusions of the studies suggested that the two compounds: carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid in rosemary extract reduces scarring-fibrosis in mice and human cells.
Rosemary and hair regrowth:
There was the study on Rosemary Extract for hair regrowth on mice from 2012:
"Promotion of hair growth by Rosmarinus officinalis leaf extract."
ncbi .nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22517595
...which has several posts on hairlosstalk
Then there was this 6 month human trial-study comparing topical Rosemary oil to minoxidil:
"Rosemary Oil For Hair Loss? Not So Fast…"
perfecthairhealth .com/does-rosemary-oil-help-fight-hair-loss/
... which reported regrowth
But I have not found any authoritative sources that say rosemary essential oil (used in the human trial above) has any significant carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid (correct me if I'm wrong, maybe I have a blind spot here). What I do find is Rosemary extract is the one that contains carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid.
And in the mice hair study the carnosic acid is the compound that inhibited 5α-reductase: "As an active constituent of 5α-reductase inhibition, 12-methoxycarnosic acid was identified with activity-guided fractionation." And in the Pulmonary Fibrosis study it was also the carnosic acid that did the fibrosis reduction.
So it looks to me like Rosemary extract may be more effective than Rosemary essential oil. So I decided to make my own topical Rosemary extract.
While not the same extraction method as used in the pulmonary fibrosis studies (Soxhlet apparatus and ethanol as a solvent), a decoction (en.wikipedia .org/wiki/Decoction) is easy to make at home. I took a a full 50g package dried Rosemary I purchased off the shelf at the local grocery store and emptied it into a pot (stainless steel) and added about 4 cups of distilled water and brought it to a boil then low simmered it for about 10 hours. This greatly reduce the liquid. It cooled, then I filtered it with a reusable coffee filter. I used an empty 100ml rubbing alcohol spray bottle and mixed my solution at a 70% (deconction) and 30% (ethyl alcohol). No other ingredients added. I apply it every 4 hours.
When researching for a good skin penetration enhancer (other than DMSO) when I was experimenting with Lactate (which I stopped when a more accurate scale I ordered failed to be shipped), I came to the conclusion after reading many articles that no natural oil or PG can beat alcohol as a penetration enhancer. So that is why I am adding nothing else to the mix.
I started applying the mix April 15, 2018. It's been a month now and I am pretty sure, not positive, that I am seeing regrowth. (I was on the Lactate solution for 3 months and saw nothing).
Regarding before-after pics, I have pics from 2016. If I see cosmetic improvement I'll post those 2016 pics along with more recent pics.
Why am I posting this before I'm absolutely positive that I see regrowth? Well I'm kind of excited because I do believe I see regrowth and I wanted to share. Also, if others decide to try this simple experiment we'll have more results to look at. Try at your own risk of course
Cheers.
The first study:
Prophylactic and curative effect of rosemary leaves extract in a bleomycin model of pulmonary fibrosis
tandfonline .com/doi/full/10.1080/13880209.2016.1247881
Second study:
Rosmarinic acid potentiates carnosic acid induced apoptosis in lung fibroblasts
ncbi .nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5587316/
The conclusions of the studies suggested that the two compounds: carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid in rosemary extract reduces scarring-fibrosis in mice and human cells.
Rosemary and hair regrowth:
There was the study on Rosemary Extract for hair regrowth on mice from 2012:
"Promotion of hair growth by Rosmarinus officinalis leaf extract."
ncbi .nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22517595
...which has several posts on hairlosstalk
Then there was this 6 month human trial-study comparing topical Rosemary oil to minoxidil:
"Rosemary Oil For Hair Loss? Not So Fast…"
perfecthairhealth .com/does-rosemary-oil-help-fight-hair-loss/
... which reported regrowth
But I have not found any authoritative sources that say rosemary essential oil (used in the human trial above) has any significant carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid (correct me if I'm wrong, maybe I have a blind spot here). What I do find is Rosemary extract is the one that contains carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid.
And in the mice hair study the carnosic acid is the compound that inhibited 5α-reductase: "As an active constituent of 5α-reductase inhibition, 12-methoxycarnosic acid was identified with activity-guided fractionation." And in the Pulmonary Fibrosis study it was also the carnosic acid that did the fibrosis reduction.
So it looks to me like Rosemary extract may be more effective than Rosemary essential oil. So I decided to make my own topical Rosemary extract.
While not the same extraction method as used in the pulmonary fibrosis studies (Soxhlet apparatus and ethanol as a solvent), a decoction (en.wikipedia .org/wiki/Decoction) is easy to make at home. I took a a full 50g package dried Rosemary I purchased off the shelf at the local grocery store and emptied it into a pot (stainless steel) and added about 4 cups of distilled water and brought it to a boil then low simmered it for about 10 hours. This greatly reduce the liquid. It cooled, then I filtered it with a reusable coffee filter. I used an empty 100ml rubbing alcohol spray bottle and mixed my solution at a 70% (deconction) and 30% (ethyl alcohol). No other ingredients added. I apply it every 4 hours.
When researching for a good skin penetration enhancer (other than DMSO) when I was experimenting with Lactate (which I stopped when a more accurate scale I ordered failed to be shipped), I came to the conclusion after reading many articles that no natural oil or PG can beat alcohol as a penetration enhancer. So that is why I am adding nothing else to the mix.
I started applying the mix April 15, 2018. It's been a month now and I am pretty sure, not positive, that I am seeing regrowth. (I was on the Lactate solution for 3 months and saw nothing).
Regarding before-after pics, I have pics from 2016. If I see cosmetic improvement I'll post those 2016 pics along with more recent pics.
Why am I posting this before I'm absolutely positive that I see regrowth? Well I'm kind of excited because I do believe I see regrowth and I wanted to share. Also, if others decide to try this simple experiment we'll have more results to look at. Try at your own risk of course
Cheers.
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