Dietary Supplement Increases Efficacy of Pharmacological Treatments for Androgenic Alopecia

The use of a novel, novel dietary supplement known as AGA-P significantly increases the clinical efficacy of pharmacological treatments for patients with mild-to-severe androgenic alopecia (AGA) and female androgenic alopecia (FAGA), new findings suggest.¹

Massimo Milani, MD—from the Medical Department at Cantabria Labs Difa Cooper in Italy—authored the analysis that led to these findings alongside a team of other investigators. Milani et al’d study explored the use of AGA-P, a novel dietary supplement made up of Serenoa repens extract, Cucurbita pepo extract, L-Cystine, and Vitamin C.

The investigative team highlighted the value of these ingredients in the supplement. They noted, for example, that L-Cystine, a sulfur-containing amino acid, is essential for synthesis of keratin.²

“This trial aims to evaluate the impact of the novel dietary supplement (AGA-P) on the efficacy of pharmacological treatments among subjects diagnosed with mild to severe AGA or FAGA,” Milani and colleagues wrote.¹ “We hypothesize that the adjunctive use of AGA-P will raise the rate of clinical improvement as assessed by a seven-point Global Assessment Scale (GAS).”

Trial Design Details

The trial investigated the efficacy of the AGA-P dietary supplement when implemented in combination with standard pharmacologic therapies for those living with androgenetic alopecia and female androgenetic alopecia. The team’s aim was to determine whether the addition of this supplementation could enhance the clinical outcomes observed among patients receiving minoxidil and/or finasteride.

This clinical trial had a multi-center, randomized, assessor-blinded design. It took place over the course of 6 months and conducted between March 2024 – April 2025, with research taking place across 13 dermatology outpatient clinics located in Italy. Milani and coauthors’ criteria for eligibility included: male patients aged ≥18 years and women of suitable age with mild-to-severe alopecia who were appropriate candidates for either pharmacologic treatment or dietary supplementation. Their diagnoses were classified as Hamilton–Norwood stages II–VII or Ludwig stages II1–Advanced.

There were 225 individuals who were enrolled in the investigators’ analysis after providing informed consent. Specifically, these subjects had a mean age of 40 ± 14 years, with an age range of 18–74 years. Participants were randomized into 1 of 2 treatment arms:

• Group A: 106 trial subjects (82 men, 24 women) were treated with pharmacologic therapy plus daily oral supplementation with one AGA-P capsule.
• Group B: 119 subjects (83 men, 36 women) were treated with pharmacologic therapy alone.

The primary outcome evaluated by the investigators was the proportion of participants attaining a Global Assessment Score (GAS) of +3 (“much improved”) at the 6-month mark. GAS was rated by the team on a 7-point scale: +3 (much improved), +2 (moderately improved), +1 (slightly improved), 0 (no change), −1 (slightly worsened), −2 (moderately worsened), and −3 (much worsened).

Efficacy of AGA-P was evaluated utilized standardized, high-resolution scalp photographs (vertex view), and these were obtained at the point of baseline and at 6 months. The necessary mages were captured by Milani and colleagues in a controlled setting by dermatologists specializing in hair disorders. An independent assessor, blinded to treatment assignment, was asked to grade the study’s photographs.

In addition to efficacy, safety and tolerability were determined via recorded adverse events (AEs) and patient-reported outcomes throughout the treatment period.

The investigative team determined that adding oral supplementation to standard pharmacologic therapy for mild-to-severe androgenic alopecia did resulted in a notably greater clinical benefit than drug therapy alone.¹ A marked improvement was observed in 36.5% of those featured in Group A compared to 25% of those in Group B (P = .04). These results support the potential of additional research and larger trials to confirm such outcomes to explore therapeutic relevance.

“The real-life randomized trial demonstrated that the oral supplementation of AGA-P significantly increases the clinical efficacy of pharmacological treatments for mild-to-severe AGA/FAGA,” the investigators concluded.¹ “This finding highlights the potential of integrating dietary supplements in alopecia treatment strategies, advocating for further research and larger-scale studies to substantiate these findings.”

References

1. M Milani, S Alfano, L Alessi, et al. “Impact of a Novel Dietary Supplement on Efficacy of Pharmacological Treatments for Androgenic Alopecia: A Real-Life, Multicenter, Randomized, Assessor-Blinded Trial on 225 Subjects,” Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 24, no. 9 (2025): e70388, https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.70388.

2. K. Anastassakis. “ Cysteine and Cystine,” in Androgenetic Alopecia From A to Z: Vol. 2 Drugs, Herbs, Nutrition and Supplements (Springer International Publishing, 2022), 211–218.