JP7539533B2 - Composition for improving hair appearance - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a composition for improving the appearance of hair.

It is known that aging causes a decline in the function of many bodily tissues. Hair and the scalp are no exception; from birth until puberty, hair gradually develops, reaching approximately 100,000 strands in a healthy state. After that, although there are differences between men and women and between individuals, age-related changes such as thinner hair, reduced hair volume, decreased hair luster, and an increase in gray hair can be observed. Age-related changes in hair are known to be caused by the shrinkage of hair follicles in the scalp and a decrease in hair follicle stem cells (Patent Document 1).

In addition to the decline in scalp and hair function due to aging, it has been pointed out that there are middle-aged and elderly people who lose confidence and energy due to deterioration in appearance such as thinning hair, hair loss, and gray hair, and who experience fewer opportunities for interpersonal interaction. For middle-aged and elderly people, especially the elderly, a vicious cycle in physical, mental, and social aspects is a problem that can lead to a state of needing nursing care.

JP 2009-161509 A

The present invention aims to provide a novel material that can improve the appearance of hair and a composition containing the same.

The present inventors have now found that, compared to young mice, aged mice experience a decline in hair volume and quality, including hair luster and color, but that the decline in hair volume and quality is improved in aged mice that have been fed WY peptide. The present invention is based on these findings.

According to the present invention, the following inventions are provided.
[1] A composition for improving hair appearance and an agent for improving hair appearance, comprising as an active ingredient a peptide having the amino acid sequence of WY or a pharma- ceutical acceptable salt or solvate thereof.
[2] The composition and agent described in [1] above, which is for use in inhibiting and/or improving deterioration of the appearance of hair.
[3] The composition and agent described in [1] or [2] above, wherein the deterioration of hair appearance is due to aging.
[4] The composition and agent according to any one of the above [1] to [3], wherein the deterioration in hair appearance is related to hair volume and/or hair quality.
[5] The composition and preparation described in [4] above, wherein the deterioration in appearance related to hair volume is at least one selected from the group consisting of hair loss, thinning hair, and reduced hair thickness.
[6] The composition and preparation described in [4] above, wherein the deterioration in appearance related to hair quality is at least one selected from the group consisting of bleaching of hair color, lightening of hair color, loss of hair luster, and loss of hair hardness.
[7] The composition and agent described in any one of [1] to [6] above, for administration to middle-aged or elderly persons.
[8] The composition and agent described in any one of [1] to [7] above, which is in the form of a food product.
[9] A composition for treating, preventing, or improving hair loss, thinning, bleaching, and/or lightening, and an agent for treating, preventing, or improving hair loss, thinning, bleaching, and/or lightening, comprising as an active ingredient a peptide having the amino acid sequence of WY or a pharma- ceutical acceptable salt or solvate thereof.
[10] A composition for promoting hair growth and/or inhibiting hair loss, and a hair growth promoter or hair loss inhibitor, comprising as an active ingredient a peptide having the amino acid sequence of WY or a pharma- ceutical acceptable salt or solvate thereof.

The compositions of [1], [9] and [10] above may be referred to herein as the "compositions of the present invention," and the preparations of [1], [9] and [10] above may be referred to herein as the "preparations of the present invention."

The dipeptide WY, which is the active ingredient of the composition and preparation of the present invention, is advantageous in that it can be used as a functional material that improves the appearance of hair (particularly hair volume and quality) and is safe for mammals, including humans.

1 is a diagram showing the effect of WY peptide intake on the hair volume and hair quality (hair luster, hair color) of aged mice. The figures are expressed as mean ± standard error. * indicates p<0.05.

Description of the Invention

The compositions and preparations of the present invention contain a peptide having the amino acid sequence of WY (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "peptide of the present invention") as an active ingredient. Here, "a peptide having an amino acid sequence" means a peptide whose sequence is specified by the amino acid sequence.

The peptide of the present invention may be obtained by chemical synthesis, or may be obtained by chemical or enzymatic decomposition of proteins or polypeptide raw materials derived from milk, soybeans, wheat, eggs, livestock meat, fish meat, seafood, etc. Specifically, for example, the sequence of the peptide of the present invention is contained at least in milk whey and casein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), soybean glycinin, wheat glutenin, egg yolk ribovitellin, egg white ovalbumin, ovotransferrin, lysozyme, chicken protein collagen, etc., so that the above peptide can be produced by subjecting these foods or food materials to acid hydrolysis, enzyme treatment with protease, microbial fermentation, etc. As the composition and agent of the present invention, the above food or food material preparation may be used as it is, or may be used as a concentrate, or may be used as a dried powder by spray drying, freeze drying, etc. Furthermore, it may be used after being subjected to any degree of purification, such as removal of impurities, salts, enzymes, etc., as necessary.

The amino acids constituting the peptide of the present invention may be composed of only L-type amino acids, only D-type amino acids, or a mixture of both. The peptide may also be composed of only naturally occurring amino acids, or only modified amino acids in which any functional group is bound to amino acids, such as phosphorylated or glycosylated amino acids, or a mixture of both. In addition, when the peptide contains two or more asymmetric carbons, it may be an enantiomer, a diastereomer, or a mixture of both.

Furthermore, the peptide of the present invention may be in the form of a free base or in the form of a pharma- ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, and the composition and preparation of the present invention may contain any of these, or a mixture of all or a part of these. Examples of pharma-ceutically acceptable salts include acid addition salts, metal salts, ammonium salts, and organic amine addition salts. Examples of pharma-ceutically acceptable acid addition salts include inorganic acid salts such as hydrochloride, sulfate, and phosphate, and organic acid salts such as acetate, maleate, fumarate, citrate, and methanesulfonate. Examples of pharma-ceutically acceptable metal salts include alkali metal salts such as sodium salt and potassium salt, alkaline earth metal salts such as magnesium salt and calcium salt, aluminum salt, and zinc salt. Examples of pharma-ceutically acceptable ammonium salts include salts of ammonium and tetramethylammonium. Examples of pharma-ceutically acceptable organic amine addition salts include addition salts of morpholine, piperidine, and the like.

The composition and preparation of the present invention can be provided as the peptide of the present invention alone or as a material (e.g., food ingredient) containing the peptide of the present invention. The composition and preparation of the present invention can also be provided by mixing the peptide of the present invention or a material containing the peptide of the present invention with other ingredients (e.g., food ingredients, food additives, formulation additives). The content of the peptide of the present invention in the composition and preparation of the present invention can be determined arbitrarily depending on the purpose, use, form, dosage form, symptoms, body weight, etc., and the present invention is not limited thereto, but the content can be 0.00001 to 50% by mass (solid content equivalent) relative to the total amount, and more preferably 0.0001 to 10% by mass (solid content equivalent). In the present invention, the preparation of the present invention can be made to consist of the peptide of the present invention, and the composition of the present invention can be made to contain the peptide of the present invention and other ingredients.

The content of the peptide of the present invention can be measured by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Those skilled in the art can easily set the conditions, and it goes without saying that a standard peptide with a purity suitable for LC/MS/MS measurement should be used during the measurement. For example, AQUA peptide manufactured by SIGMA ALDRICH can be used.

Food materials containing the peptide of the present invention include enzymatic hydrolysates of proteins, preferably enzymatic hydrolysates of whey protein (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "whey hydrolysates"). Methods for producing whey hydrolysates containing the peptide of the present invention are known, and can be produced, for example, according to the description in WO 2017/086303. Alternatively, commercially available whey enzymatic hydrolysates containing the peptide of the present invention may be used, and for example, LE80GF-US (manufactured by DMV) or HW-3 (manufactured by Megmilk Snow Brand) may be used as the peptide of the present invention.

When the peptide of the present invention is contained in the composition and preparation of the present invention as a whey protein hydrolysate, the peptide of the present invention can be contained in a proportion of 0.001 to 10% by mass (solid content equivalent) relative to the whey protein hydrolysate, and more preferably 0.01 to 5% by mass (solid content equivalent). Furthermore, the whey protein hydrolysate can be contained in the composition and preparation of the present invention in a proportion of 0.001 to 95% by mass (solid content equivalent), and preferably 0.01 to 50% by mass (solid content equivalent).

As shown in the Examples below, the peptide of the present invention has an effect of improving the appearance of body hair in an aged model animal. Improvement of the appearance (hair volume and hair quality) of body hair in rodents serves as a model for improving the appearance (hair volume and hair quality) of head hair in humans (see Drug Delivery System 24-2, 2009, 109-116 and Cosmetology Research Report Vol. 21, 2013, 19-23 for reference). Therefore, the peptide of the present invention can be used as an active ingredient of a composition for improving the appearance of hair and an agent for improving the appearance of hair. In the present invention, "hair" and "head hair" are synonymous.

In the present invention, "improving hair appearance" includes not only improving (making better) the appearance of hair, but also inhibiting deterioration of hair appearance and recovering from deterioration of hair appearance. In other words, "improving hair appearance" is used to mean "inhibiting and improving deterioration of hair appearance."

In the present invention, the "deterioration of hair appearance" is preferably caused by aging (particularly senescence). In general, middle-aged and elderly people often experience a deterioration in the appearance of their hair, and the deterioration of hair appearance is particularly severe in elderly people. Therefore, the composition and preparation of the present invention can be intended for ingestion by middle-aged and elderly people (e.g., those aged 50 or older, those aged 56 or older), and can be intended for ingestion by elderly people (e.g., those aged 65 or older). In other words, the composition and preparation of the present invention can be intended for ingestion by middle-aged and elderly people or elderly people.

In the present invention, "hair appearance" preferably relates to either or both of hair volume and hair quality. Deterioration of hair appearance related to hair volume includes hair loss (no hair), thinning hair, and reduced hair thickness, particularly hair loss and thinning hair. Deterioration of hair appearance related to hair quality includes hair bleaching, hair lightening, reduced hair shine, and reduced hair stiffness, particularly hair bleaching, hair lightening, and reduced hair shine.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a composition for treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning, bleaching and/or lightening, and an agent for treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning, bleaching and/or lightening, comprising the peptide of the present invention. Hair loss, thinning, bleaching and lightening can be attributed to aging (particularly senescence).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a composition for promoting hair growth and/or inhibiting hair loss, and a hair growth promoter and a hair loss inhibitor, each comprising the peptide of the present invention. In the present invention, the terms "promoting hair growth" and "inhibiting hair loss" are used in the sense that they include "hair growth."

The compositions and agents of the present invention can be provided in the form of medicines (e.g., pharmaceutical compositions), quasi-drugs, foods (e.g., food compositions), feeds (including pet foods), etc., and can be implemented as described below.

The peptides of the present invention can be orally administered to humans and non-human animals. Oral preparations include granules, powders, tablets (including sugar-coated tablets), pills, capsules, syrups, emulsions, and suspensions. These preparations can be formulated using pharma- ceutical acceptable carriers by methods commonly used in the art. Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers include excipients, binders, diluents, additives, flavorings, buffers, thickeners, colorants, stabilizers, emulsifiers, dispersants, suspending agents, preservatives, etc.

The peptide of the present invention can be orally ingested by humans and non-human animals, and a typical form of ingestion is food. When the peptide of the present invention is provided as a food, it can be provided as it is, or it can be provided by being contained in food. For example, when the peptide of the present invention is provided as a food, an enzymatic hydrolysis product of a protein such as a whey hydrolysate containing the peptide of the present invention can be provided as it is, or it can be provided by being contained in food. The food provided in this way is a food containing an effective amount of the peptide of the present invention. In this specification, "containing an effective amount" of the peptide of the present invention refers to a content such that the peptide of the present invention is ingested in the range described below when the amount normally consumed in each food is ingested. In addition, "food" is used to mean health food, functional food, nutritional supplement, health functional food (e.g., specific health food, nutritional functional food, functional food), special purpose food (e.g., food for infants, food for pregnant women, food for sick people) and supplements. It goes without saying that when the peptide of the present invention is ingested by animals other than humans, the food referred to in the present invention is used as feed.

Since the peptide of the present invention has the effect of improving the deterioration of appearance as described above, it can be contained in foods that are consumed daily, or can be provided as a supplement. That is, the composition and agent of the present invention can be provided in the form of a food. In this case, the composition and agent of the present invention can be provided in a unit package form in which the amount to be taken per meal is predetermined. Examples of the unit package form per meal include a form in which a certain amount is specified in a pack, package, can, bottle, etc. In order to better exert the various effects of the composition and agent of the present invention, the intake amount per meal can be determined according to the intake amount of the peptide of the present invention per serving, which will be described later. The food of the present invention may be provided with an explanation regarding the intake amount displayed on the package, or together with a document containing the explanation.

The predetermined intake amount per meal in the unit package form may be the effective intake amount per day, or the effective intake amount per day divided into two or more portions (preferably two or three portions). Thus, the unit package form of the composition and preparation of the present invention may contain the peptide of the present invention at the daily human intake amount described below, or may contain the peptide of the present invention in an amount of one-half to one-sixth of the daily human intake amount described below. For convenience of intake, the composition and preparation of the present invention are preferably provided in a "unit package form per meal" in which the intake amount per meal is the effective intake amount per day.

The form of the "food" is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a beverage, a semi-liquid or gel form, or a solid or powder form. In addition, examples of "supplements" include tablets produced by adding excipients, binders, etc. to the peptide of the present invention, kneading the mixture, and then tableting, and capsules enclosed in capsules, etc.

The foods provided by the present invention are not particularly limited as long as they contain the peptides of the present invention, and examples of such foods include soft drinks, carbonated drinks, drinks containing fruit juice, drinks containing vegetable juice, drinks containing fruit juice and vegetable juice, livestock milk such as cow's milk, soy milk, dairy drinks, drink-type yogurt, drink-type or stick-type jellies, coffee, cocoa, tea drinks, nutritional drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, mineral water, near-water, non-alcoholic beer-flavored drinks, and other non-alcoholic drinks; carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages such as rice, noodles, bread, and pasta; cheeses, hard or soft yogurt, fresh cream made from livestock milk or other fats and oils, ice cream, etc. Examples of the mineral water include dairy products; Western confectionery such as cookies, cakes, and chocolates, Japanese confectionery such as manju and yokan, tablet confectionery (refreshing confectionery) such as ramune, candies, gums, cold and frozen desserts such as jellies and puddings, snacks, and other confectionery; alcoholic beverages such as whiskey, bourbon, spirits, liqueurs, wine, fruit wine, sake, Chinese wine, shochu, beer, non-alcoholic beer with an alcohol content of 1% or less, sparkling wine, other miscellaneous alcohol, and chuhai; processed foods such as processed foods using eggs, processed foods (including delicacies) made from seafood and meat (including liver and other organ meats), soups such as miso soup, seasonings such as miso, soy sauce, furikake, and other seasonings, and liquid foods such as thick liquid foods. Mineral water includes both sparkling and non-sparkling mineral water. The food provided by the present invention also includes both food manufacturing ingredients and food additives.

Tea beverages include all fermented, semi-fermented and non-fermented teas, such as black tea, green tea, barley tea, brown rice tea, sencha, gyokuro tea, roasted green tea, oolong tea, turmeric tea, pu-erh tea, rooibos tea, rose tea, chrysanthemum tea, ginkgo leaf tea and herbal teas (e.g. mint tea, jasmine tea).

Fruits used in fruit juice beverages and beverages containing fruit and vegetable juices include, for example, apples, mandarin oranges, grapes, bananas, pears, peaches, mangoes, acai, blueberries, and plums. Vegetables used in vegetable juice beverages and beverages containing fruit and vegetable juices include, for example, tomatoes, carrots, celery, pumpkin, cucumber, and watermelon.

The amount of the peptide of the present invention to be taken can be determined depending on the recipient's sex, age, and weight, symptoms, time of intake, dosage form, route of intake, and drugs to be combined. The daily intake (dry mass equivalent) of the peptide of the present invention for an adult for the purpose of improving the appearance of hair (including improvement of hair loss, thinning, bleaching, and lightening of hair), promoting hair growth, and inhibiting hair loss is, for example, 0.001 to 1000 mg (preferably 0.01 to 100 mg). The above-mentioned intake amount of the peptide of the present invention and the following intake timing and intake period are applicable to both non-therapeutic and therapeutic uses of the peptide of the present invention, and in the case of therapeutic use, intake can be read as administration. The peptide of the present invention can also be taken by mammals other than humans (preferably animals covered with body hair, such as mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, cats, cows, horses, pigs, monkeys, etc.), and the intake amount, intake timing, and intake period can be determined with reference to the description for humans.

The ingestion period of the peptide of the present invention can be at least 3 days (preferably 5 days, 10 days, or 13 days) at the above daily dose. The ingestion interval of the peptide of the present invention can be once every 3 days, once every 2 days, or once a day at the above daily dose.

The compositions, preparations, and foods of the present invention may be labeled with a statement that they have an effect of improving hair appearance. In this case, the compositions, preparations, and foods of the present invention may be labeled with some or all of the following statements in order to make the statements easy for consumers to understand. It goes without saying that in the present invention, "improving hair appearance" is used in a sense that includes the statements below.
・For those concerned about hair aging ・For anti-aging of hair ・For those concerned about hair loss, balding, thinning hair, and gray hair

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for improving the appearance of hair, comprising ingesting or administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of the peptide of the present invention, or a pharma- ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, or a composition comprising the same. The present invention also provides a method for treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning or bleaching, comprising ingesting or administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of the peptide of the present invention, or a pharma-ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, or a composition comprising the same. The present invention also provides a method for promoting hair growth and inhibiting hair loss, comprising ingesting or administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of the peptide of the present invention, or a pharma-ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, or a composition comprising the same. The method of the present invention can be carried out according to the description of the compositions and preparations of the present invention.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the use of the peptide of the present invention, or a pharma- ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, for the manufacture of an agent for improving hair appearance, as an agent for improving hair appearance, or in the method of the present invention for improving hair appearance. The present invention also provides the use of the peptide of the present invention, or a pharma-ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, for the manufacture of an agent for treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning or bleaching, as an agent for treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning or bleaching, or in the method of treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning or bleaching, of the present invention. The present invention also provides the use of the peptide of the present invention, or a pharma-ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, for the manufacture of an agent for treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning or bleaching, as an agent for treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning or bleaching, of the present invention. The use of the present invention can be carried out according to the description of the composition and the agent of the present invention.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a peptide having the amino acid sequence of WY, or a pharma- ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, for use in improving the appearance of hair. The present invention also provides a peptide having the amino acid sequence of WY, or a pharma-ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, for use in treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning or bleaching. The present invention also provides a peptide having the amino acid sequence of WY, or a pharma-ceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, for use in promoting hair growth or inhibiting hair loss. The peptide having the amino acid sequence of WY and its pharma-ceutically acceptable salt and solvate can be used in accordance with the description of the compositions and preparations of the present invention.

The methods and uses of the present invention may be for use in mammals, including humans, and both therapeutic and non-therapeutic uses are intended. As used herein, "non-therapeutic" does not mean to include surgery, therapy, or diagnosis of humans (i.e., medical procedures on humans), and specifically does not mean to include methods in which a physician or a person under the direction of a physician performs surgery, therapy, or diagnosis on a human.

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Example 1: Effect of WY peptide on improving appearance due to aging (1) Outline of the study The appearance of old mice was compared between a group that ingested the test food and a group that did not. The appearance was also compared with a group of young mice that did not ingest the test food. WY peptide was used as the test food.

(2) Mice C57BL/6J male mice (Charles River Laboratories Japan, sometimes simply referred to as "this mouse" in this specification) were used. According to the materials of Charles River Laboratories Japan (https://www.crj.co.jp/cms/cmsrs/img/usr/top/B6-Aged.pdf), this mouse was developed by the Jackson Laboratory and is widely used in aging research. It has been published that, as a result of observing 32 this mouse, some individuals died at 100 weeks of age, and all individuals died by 170 weeks of age (see Mouse Phenome Database (https://www.phenome.jax.org/)). The correspondence between this mouse and humans in terms of life span is as follows: 20-30 years old in humans corresponds to 3-6 months old in this mouse (mature individuals), 38-47 years old in humans corresponds to 10-14 months old in this mouse (middle-aged individuals), and 56-69 years old in humans corresponds to 18-24 months old in this mouse (aged individuals). It is also said that with age, the fur may thin, turn gray or brown, and partial hair loss may occur. In this study, 78-week-old mice were used as old mice, and 6-month-old mice were used as young mice after one month of acclimation. The old mice were divided into two groups, the "old WY intake group" (9 mice) that ingested the test food (WY peptide), and the "old non-intake group" (8 mice) that did not ingest the test food, so that there was no weight bias. The young mice were divided into the "young non-intake group" (5 mice) that did not ingest the test food, and were kept under the same conditions as the old non-intake group. The weight of each individual was measured at the time of allocation and evaluation.

(3) Administration of test food (WY peptide) For the aged WY intake group, WY peptide was forcibly administered into the stomach with a probe at a dose of 10 mg/kg. The WY peptide was dissolved in distilled water so that the intake amount was 10 mL/kg (mouse body weight). For the aged non-intake group, distilled water not containing WY peptide was forcibly administered into the stomach with a probe at a dose of 10 mL/kg (mouse body weight). The intake period was 13 days.

(4) Evaluation After the intake period, each mouse was observed from the back and evaluated. The evaluation items were hair volume (visual volume) and hair quality (hair gloss and hair color). Since there was almost no variation in hair volume and hair quality among the individuals in the young non-intake group, the hair volume and hair quality of the young non-intake group were used as the standard, and each individual in the old WY intake group and the old non-intake group was evaluated on a five-point scale based on the evaluation criteria shown in Table 1. According to the observations in this study, it was confirmed that the hair color of this mouse was bleached (whitened) in the order of black, brown, light brown, and white with age, so the evaluation of hair color was made as an absolute evaluation based on the ratio of white hair (white hair) to the total hair of each individual, rather than a comparison with the young non-intake group. In addition, it was confirmed by the observations in this study that the hair loss progressed and the hair volume (visual volume) decreased in this mouse. The evaluation was made by discussion between two researchers.

(5) Statistical Processing The measured values of each group were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation. Tests were performed by t-tests, and a significant difference between the two groups was determined when the risk rate was P<0.05%.

(6) Results The results are shown in FIG. 1 and Tables 2 and 3.

From the results of Figure 1, Table 2 and Table 3, the scores of hair volume and hair quality (hair gloss, hair color) of the aged non-ingesting group were extremely low compared to the young non-ingesting group. On the other hand, the scores of hair volume and hair quality (hair gloss, hair color) of the aged WY-ingesting group were significantly increased compared to the aged non-ingesting group, and it was confirmed that they were comparable to the young non-ingesting group. The improvement in hair quality in the aged WY-ingesting group was thought to be due to the improvement in the quality (hair gloss, hair color) of newly grown hair due to turnover (hair loss and hair growth). From this, it was further considered that the improvement in hair volume (hair loss) in the aged WY-ingesting group may have been due to an increase in newly grown hair due to turnover. These results showed that ingestion of WY peptide improves the deterioration of hair volume and hair quality (hair gloss, hair color) and improves the aging and deterioration of hair appearance. As mentioned above, hair loss and hair volume decrease with age in these mice, but it was confirmed that the hair volume increased significantly in the aged WY intake group compared to the aged non-intake group. Therefore, it can be said that intake of WY peptide is effective in promoting hair growth and suppressing hair loss.

Claims (12)

A composition for improving the appearance of body hair in mammals other than humans , comprising as an active ingredient a dipeptide consisting of the amino acid sequence of WY, or a pharma- ceutical acceptable salt or solvate thereof. 2. The composition of claim 1 for use in inhibiting and/or improving the appearance of body hair in a non-human mammal . 3. The composition of claim 1 or 2, wherein the deterioration in the appearance of body hair in a non-human mammal is due to aging. The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the deterioration in the appearance of body hair of a non-human mammal concerns the amount and/or quality of hair. The composition according to claim 4, wherein the deterioration in appearance with respect to hair volume is at least one selected from the group consisting of hair loss, thinning hair, and reduced hair thickness. The composition according to claim 4, wherein the deterioration in appearance of hair quality is at least one selected from the group consisting of bleaching of hair color, lightening of hair color, loss of hair luster, and loss of hair hardness. The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the appearance of body hair is furry. A method for improving the appearance of body hair in a non-human mammal, comprising having the non-human mammal ingest a dipeptide consisting of the amino acid sequence of WY, or a pharma- ceutical acceptable salt or solvate thereof, or a composition comprising same. A composition for treating, preventing or improving hair loss, thinning, bleaching and/or lightening of body hair in mammals other than humans , comprising as an active ingredient a peptide consisting of the amino acid sequence of WY or a pharma- ceutical acceptable salt or solvate thereof. A method for treating, preventing or ameliorating hair loss, thinning, bleaching and/or lightening of body hair in a non-human mammal, comprising having the non-human mammal ingest a peptide consisting of the amino acid sequence of WY, or a pharma- ceutical acceptable salt or solvate thereof, or a composition comprising the same. A composition for promoting hair growth and/or inhibiting hair loss in a mammal other than a human , comprising as an active ingredient a peptide consisting of the amino acid sequence of WY or a pharma- ceutical acceptable salt or solvate thereof. A method for promoting hair growth and suppressing hair loss in a mammal other than a human, comprising having the mammal other than a human ingest a peptide consisting of the amino acid sequence of WY, or a pharma- ceutical acceptable salt or solvate thereof, or a composition comprising the same.

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