Efficacy of purslane in the treatment of oral lichen planus.
This study evaluated the effectiveness of antioxidant-rich purslane in the treatment of oral lichen planus (OLP). A total of 37 biopsy-proven symptomatic OLP patients were selected for this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. All subjects were divided into two groups to receive purslane (n = 20) or placebo (n = 17) for 3 months. Assessments were made at baseline, after 2 weeks and each month for 6 months, based on the visual analog scale (VAS) and clinical improvement including lesion type and size. Approximately 83% of the purslane patients showed partial to complete clinical improvement but 17% had no response. In the placebo group 17% experienced partial improvement, 73% did not respond and 10% showed worsening. According to VAS scores, a partial to complete response was observed in all purslane-treated patients, while 71%, 15% and 14% of the controls demonstrated partial response, no response and worsening of the symptoms, respectively. A significant decrease in VAS scores was seen at the end of the study period (p < 0.001). No serious side-effects occurred in either of the groups. According to our findings purslane is clinically effective in the treatment of OLP. Considering the lack of side-effects during the study period, it may be a favorable alternative treatment for OLP.
Agha-Hosseini
Farzaneh
F
Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. aghahose@sina.tums.ac.ir
Borhan-Mojabi
Katayun
K
Monsef-Esfahani
Hamid-Reza
HR
Mirzaii-Dizgah
Iraj
I
Etemad-Moghadam
Shahroo
S
Karagah
Aida
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D031822:Portulaca / Q000737:chemistry*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D010936:Plant Extracts