Haritaki for Wrinkles? Scientists Gave Women Capsules for 8 Weeks

Can an Ancient Ayurvedic Fruit Affect How Skin Looks?

Haritaki (Terminalia chebula) is usually associated with Ayurveda, digestion and traditional botanical practices.

But researchers recently asked a much more unexpected question:

What happens to the skin when people actually swallow Haritaki extract every day?

A double-blind, placebo-controlled human study investigated exactly that. Healthy women between 25 and 65 years old received either placebo or standardized Terminalia chebula fruit extract for eight weeks. PubMed

They Took Haritaki Capsules Twice a Day

Participants in the Haritaki group received 250 mg capsules twice daily.

Researchers didn't simply ask whether their skin “looked better.” They used facial imaging and instruments to measure wrinkles, sebum production, skin moisture, transepidermal water loss, melanin and redness. PubMed Central (PMC)

And the results attracted attention.

What Happened to Their Wrinkles?

After eight weeks, researchers reported that measured facial wrinkle severity decreased by 4.3% in the Terminalia chebula group, while it increased by 3.9% in the placebo group.

The difference between the groups was statistically significant. PubMed Central (PMC)

Researchers also reported a reduction in cheek redness and, among participants who began the study with higher facial sebum levels, a substantial reduction in forehead sebum production. PubMed

Scientists Have Even Looked at Haritaki and Cellular Aging

Here's where the story gets even stranger.

Years before this human trial, laboratory researchers exposed cultured cells to Terminalia chebula fruit extract and investigated oxidative stress and age-related telomere shortening.

They reported that the extract inhibited age-dependent telomere shortening in their cell model and that continuously treated cells had a longer lifespan than controls. PubMed

That's fascinating—but it was a cell experiment, not evidence that taking Haritaki extends human lifespan or reverses aging.

What About Collagen and UV Damage?

Researchers have investigated that too.

Laboratory experiments using human fibroblasts found that Terminalia chebula extract reduced certain changes triggered by UVB exposure and increased production of type I procollagen. Related animal experiments also investigated the extract against UVB-induced skin damage. PubMed

Other laboratory work has examined Haritaki extracts for effects involving human skin fibroblasts and enzymes associated with skin aging. PubMed

So Is Haritaki an Anti-Aging Supplement?

That's much too early to say.

The oral human study was relatively small and tested a specific standardized Terminalia chebula extract. It does not prove that every Haritaki powder or capsule will produce the same results.

And findings involving telomeres, collagen and UV damage from cells or animals cannot automatically be translated into effects inside the human body.

But there is something genuinely interesting here:

Scientists have gone from studying Haritaki in Ayurvedic tradition to measuring wrinkles on the faces of people actually consuming Terminalia chebula.

For an ancient fruit, that's quite a modern turn.

Curious about Haritaki? Discover Harlowi Haritaki Third Eye Capsules below.