Effects of camel thorn distillate on recurrent oral aphthous lesions.
BACKGROUND
Near 20 % of people suffer from recurrent oral aphthous ulcers. These painful ulcers are found on the oral mucosa. We conducted this study to evaluate the effect of the camel thorn distillate on this condition.


METHODS
93 patients with recurrent aphthous ulcers were selected and divided into two groups. One group was given a placebo (n = 44) and the other was given camel thorn distillate (n = 49). The diameter of the lesions and the severity of the pain were measured 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days after initiation of therapy. The lesion diameters and pain scores of the two groups were compared using the t-test.


RESULTS
Complete resolution time ranged from 3 to 7 days (mean = 4.02) in the group treated with camel thorn distillate, whereas in the control group, complete resolution time ranged from 7 to 14 days (mean = 8.9, p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The efficacy of camel thorn distillate is comparable to that of other drugs used to treat oral aphthous ulcers. Its therapeutic effect may be due to the flavanones (alhagitin and alhagidin) that are present in this plant.
Pourahmad
Morteza
M
Department of Internal Medicine, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Iran. mortezapourahmad@yahoo.com
Rahiminejad
Masood
M
Fadaei
Sara
S
Kashafi
Hamed
H
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D044950:Flavanones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006027:Glycosides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D013281:Stomatitis, Aphthous / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D044950:Flavanones; D006027:Glycosides; D010936:Plant Extracts; C553320:camel thorn distillate