Argan (Argania Spinosa) press cake extract enhances cell proliferation and prevents oxidative stress and inflammation of human dermal papilla cells

•Hair plays an important role inindividual’s general appearance. Hair loss is not considered to be a severe disease, however, it affects people’s quality of life and leads to psychological disorders.•Argan Press Cake (APC) extracts are rich in phenolic compounds and saponins and contains significant concentrations of phytosterols.•APC extracts showed a potential effect on hair growth stimulation, via increasing the proliferation and mitochondrial activity, while inhibiting the inflammation and the oxidative stress of Human Hair Follicle Dermal Papilla Cells (HFDCPs).•APC extracts can potentially contribute to an anti-hair loss drug development. Hair follicle undergoes a growth cycle under the regulation of dermal papilla cells. Due to their enormous roles, these fibroblast cells have been used in various in vitro studies as a screening model to evaluate the effect of hair growth regulating agents. In the current study, we aim to check the hair growth potential effect of Argan press cake (APC) extracted using 50 or 80 % aqueous ethanol on human hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPCs) and to determine the molecular mechanism. APC were applied to HFDPCs, then cell proliferation assays, mitochondrial biogenesis assay, and oxidative stress assay were assessed. DNA microarray was performed from the cells treated with our samples and minoxidil. Validation of the results was done using Quantitative Real-Time PCR with primers for hair-growth related genes. GC/MS analysis was used to determine the compounds contained in APC 50 and 80 %. APC enhanced cell proliferation along with the stimulation of the ATP content. Additionally, APC had an anti-oxidant activity against H2O2 mediated oxidative stress preventing dermal papilla cell senescence. Consistent with this, global gene profiling analysis showed an activation of hair growth-related pathway, and a downregulation of inflammation- and oxidative stress-related genes by APC extracts. GC/MS analysis revealed that these extracts contained pure fatty acids, derived sugar chains, and pure compounds including tocopherols, squalene, and spinasterol. Taken together, here we showed that APC extracts had an effect on stimulating hair growth while inhibiting the inflammation and the oxidative stress of HFDPCs and thus can potentially contribute to an anti-hair loss drug development.