Artemisia fukudo Makino is a biennial halophyte from the Asteraceae family, known for its tolerance to high-salinity soils. Based on the excellent activity of A. fukudo extract in regulating the 5α-reductase type 2 (5αR2) enzyme, this study aimed to investigate the phytochemical properties and pharmaceutical potential of A. fukudo for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and alopecia. Eight compounds including sesquiterpenes (1-4), coumarin (5), and flavonoids (6-8) were isolated from 90% MeOH fraction of A. fukudo, and their structures were determined using NMR and MS experiments. Among the isolated compounds, compounds 5-7 were detected in HPLC-DAD, and contents of compounds 5-8 were successfully quantified using ESI-MS. It was found that 90% MeOH fraction of A. fukudo contained scopoletin (5), jaceosidin (6), eupatilin (7), and jaceidin (8) at the concentration of 1.44, 35.71, 6.44, and 11.19 mg/g, respectively. Compound 8 effectively inhibited the expressions of BPH-related proteins, AR, PCNA, PSA, and 5αR2 in LNCaP and RWPE-1 cells. Meanwhile, compound 7 exhibited potent activity in regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling and induced the expression of VEGF and IGF-1 in HaCaT and HUVECs. These findings suggest that A. fukudo and its bioactive constituents represent novel natural substances for treatment or improvement of BPH and alopecia.
Kim et al. (Sun,) studied this question.