HGH, powerfull, and hair

Matt Skiba

Matt Skiba

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Powerfull claims that increased HGH levels can result in better looking hair and skin, but HGH is also supposed to increase testosterone levels, and I read somewhere that it can even accelerate male pattern baldness.

So I'm really curious as what the facts on all this are since I seem to be reading some conflicting reports.
 
strategicmove

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Powerfull claims that increased HGH levels can result in better looking hair and skin, but HGH is also supposed to increase testosterone levels, and I read somewhere that it can even accelerate male pattern baldness.

So I'm really curious as what the facts on all this are since I seem to be reading some conflicting reports.
The problem is not necessarily the increased testosterone levels, but the possible increased conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This is what can cause or accelerate hair loss. This is also the reason some take supplements that reduce this conversion to DHT. Male pattern baldness is, by the way, a hereditary condition.
 
Matt Skiba

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The problem is not necessarily the increased testosterone levels, but the possible increased conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This is what can cause or accelerate hair loss. This is also the reason some take supplements that reduce this conversion to DHT. Male pattern baldness is, by the way, a hereditary condition.
Yeah I know this, but wouldn't there be more DHT if there is more testosterone?
 
brywal312

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Yeah I know this, but wouldn't there be more DHT if there is more testosterone?
yeah bro.... that is what he is saying. If you are taking test or a supplement which produces excess test then it is a good idea to take something to prevent it from converting to DHT so that you look like this :afro: instead of this :aargh: As far as powerfull is concerned I would not sweat it. I seriously doubt any hgh boosting test would be anywhere close to enough to convert to dht and cause issues.
 
Berserko

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If you are taking test or a supplement which produces excess test then it is a good idea to take something to prevent it from converting to DHT
Such as? Didn't know such products existed, might run activate soon and am slightly concerned of this.
 
Dancebot 2000

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Such as? Didn't know such products existed, might run activate soon and am slightly concerned of this.
Activate's main ingredient is a nettle root extract, which inhibits enzymes such as 5 alpha reductase that cause testosterone to convert to DHT. It also prevents DHT from getting bound to recptors, so you should be fine.
 
rpen22

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Do you have any links about nettle root being a 5ar inhibitor? I wasn't aware of this, I thought it just prevented DHT from binding to prostate receptors.
 
Dancebot 2000

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Do you have any links about nettle root being a 5ar inhibitor? I wasn't aware of this, I thought it just prevented DHT from binding to prostate receptors.
I'm having a hard time finding one that doesn't take me to a product wedsite, so I don't want to post it, but if you google nettle root DHT, it will be in the top few links. Some of them do site references.
 
rpen22

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Aight. I got time to burn, so I'll do some searching.
 
SMOKEPALADIN

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When i use Powerfull my hair grows quicker I have noticed, I have never had any balding problems so take it for what its worth, but I dont think I have read anybody having shedding problems in Powerfull reviews.
 
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Do you have any links about nettle root being a 5ar inhibitor? I wasn't aware of this, I thought it just prevented DHT from binding to prostate receptors.
This is one possibility:

http://www.herbs.org/current/pygnettle.html


"Research Reviews
Synergistic action of pygeum and nettle root extracts in prostate disease

One of the theories about the cause of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) suggests that the testosterone metabolite dihydrotestosterone causes or furthers the progression of prostatic enlargement. This thinking is supported by the fact that men deficient in dihydrotestosterone do not experience prostatic growth, and that treatment with prescription drugs which inhibit the production of dihydrotestosterone can decrease prostatic growth. An increase in the ratio of estrogen to testosterone in elderly men indicates that estrogen may also be involved in the development of BPH.

In this study, Swiss researchers R. Hartmann et al. demonstrate that extracts of pygeum (Pygeum africanum Kalkman, Rosaceae) and nettle root (Urtica dioica L., Urticaceae) partially blocked the action of two enzymes involved in the body's production of dihydrotestosterone and estrogen. The in vitro (laboratory) study showed that both pygeum and nettle root extracts were effective in inhibiting these two enzymes (5alpha-reductase and aromatase) and that a combination of the two plant extracts was significantly more effective than either extract individually in blocking aromatase activity.

Nettle root extract was effective only at high concentrations, while pygeum extract showed "a much higher efficacy" at lower doses. The combination of the two extracts (Prostatonin®) was as effective as pygeum against 5 a-reductase and significantly more effective than either against aromatase. This study supports the use of combinations of these two ingredients in the treatment of BPH. This is especially important because pygeum bark is both expensive and limited in supply, while nettle roots are easily produced on a large scale.

-- Rob McCaleb, HRF

Full article $20 - Review Order
[Hartmann, R.W., Mark, M., and Soldati, F. 1996. Inhibition of 5 alpha-reductase and aromatase by PHL-00801 (Prostatonin®), a combination of PY 102 (Pygeum africanum) and UR 102 (Uritca dioica) extracts. Phytomedicine 3(2):121-128.]"
 
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Do you have any links about nettle root being a 5ar inhibitor? I wasn't aware of this, I thought it just prevented DHT from binding to prostate receptors.
Another: http://ezyhair.com.au/welcome/page13.php


"Nettles Clinical Study
Nettles This study shows that Nettles extract inhibits enzymes such as 5 alpha reductase (the enzyme that causes testosterone to convert to DHT). It is the DHT metabolite of testosterone that is known to cause excess hair loss at the top of the head.

AUTHOR
R. Hartmann et al.

STUDY SUMMARY
The extract of nettle root (Urtica dioica L., Urticaceae) partially blocked the action of two enzymes involved in the body's production of dihydrotestosterone and estrogen. The in vitro (laboratory) study showed that nettle root extract was effective in inhibiting these two enzymes (5alpha-reductase and aromatase).

Dr. A Vogel, a Swiss herbalist know throughout the world, advocates Nettle for stimulating hair growth and Dr. Rudolf Fritz Weiss, M.D., the dean of German herbal physicians and author of Herbal Medicine also supports the use of Nettles for those with thinning hair."
 
rpen22

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Interesting. I didn't realize Urtica had aromatase inhibiting properties, either.
Interaction with aromatase

There is strong evidence that nettle extract interferes with the conversion of testosterone into oestrogens. The ethanolic nettle root extract WS1031 (DER 8–13:1, solvent 60% ethanol) inhibited aromatisation of androstenedione in vitro (IC50 338 μg/ml). This effect was increased by adding saw palmetto extract (Koch, 1995). The active principle was found in an heptane fraction, suggesting that lipophilic compounds are responsible for the action (Koch, 1995). The heptane fraction was more effective than a single component – 9-hydroxy-10,12-octadecadienoic acid. Semimaximal inhibitory concentrations were higher than those of Sabal extracts (solvents ethanol 90%, hexane) but the combination of Sabal and Urtica extracts showed a clear additive effect. In a similar test procedure, a comparable aromatase inhibition of ethanolic nettle extract LI 166 (60% ethanol, DER 8–12:1) and a synthetic aromatase inhibitor was achieved, however at a concentration 250 fold higher than that of the synthetic (Morgenstern and Ziska, 1999). Likewise, the dose-dependent inhibitory effect of a methanolic extract (DER 10:1, solvent 30% methanol) on aromatase was increased by concomittant administration of a Pygeum extract (Hartmann et al., 1996).

Besides common fatty acids, (10E,12Z)-9-hydroxy-10,12-octadecadienoic acid was identified as co-active component (Kraus et al., 1991). Later, other lignans, e.g. secoisolariciresinol, oleanolic and ursolic acid, (9Z,11E)-13-hydroxy-9,11-octadecadienoic acid and 14-octacosanol, were identified as weak to moderate inhibitors of the aromatase (Gansser and Spiteller, 1995b). Nettle root extracts of various producers were found to inhibit the aromatase, as did isolated 9-hydroxy-10-trans-12-cis-ocadecadienoic acid or its derivative 9-oxo-10-trans-12-cis-ocadecadienoic acid (Bartsch and Kühne, 1992). However, nettle root contains only low quantities of these components and the active principle for a clinical relevant aromatase inhibition needs still to be defined. However, the aqueous nettle extract BNO 1250 (DER 10:1, 0.75 and 7.5 mg/ml) also inhibited oestradiol formation in a time and dose-dependent manner (a cytotoxic effect could be excluded). Jarry et al. (1999) suggested that besides the inhibition of the enzyme activity, inhibition of aromatase gene expression may be involved in the nettle root effect.

Interaction with androgen receptor binding

There is no evidence that the nettle root extract BAZ (DER 5:1, solvent 20% methanol) interacts with the binding of radioactively labelled DHT to rat prostatic androgen receptors (Rhodes et al., 1993) nor that this nettle root extract affected microsomal 5α-reductase activity (Rausch et al., 1992).

Interaction with 5α-reductase

Only high doses of a methanolic extract (DER 10:1, solvent 30% methanol) inhibited 5α-reductase (ED50 14.7 mg/ml; Hartmann et al., 1996). The effect was very low when compared with the synthetic 5α-reductase inhibitor finasteride (Rhodes et al., 1993). Likewise, the ethanolic extract WS1031 had no impact on the conversion of testosterone into DHT (Koch and Biber, 1994).
 
blind12

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Male pattern baldness is, by the way, a hereditary condition.
The predisposition (hair receptor affinity) is hereditary. If you're castrated physically or chemically, you won't get bald. (Oral baldness drugs are basically weak chemical castration agents, so I only use topical stuff myself).

Male pattern baldness seems to be an autoimmune disease, btw.
 
blind12

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Interesting. I didn't realize Urtica had aromatase inhibiting properties, either.
The nettle as a whole might not. It's just a fractional extraction product that does.

But it does lower SHBG.
 

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