title: The efficacy of aloe vera in management of oral lichen planus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The main objective of oral lichen planus management is to control symptomatic outbreaks via eliminating lesions and alleviating symptoms. Corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors, and most of the available modalities are associated with adverse effects, which may limit their use. The aim of this review was to assess the effect of aloe vera on pain alleviation and/or clinical improvement in patients with symptomatic oral lichen planus.
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE-PubMed; CENTRAL, and LILACS were searched in May 2016 to identify all clinical trials evaluating aloe vera vs placebo or corticosteroids for treatment of oral lichen planus. The included studies were five clinical trials and two case reports.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From the included studies, there is weak evidence that aloe vera is more efficient than placebo and has comparable effect to triamcinolone acetonide. The meta-analyses show heterogeneity and reveals that aloe vera is inferior to the control in general.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although corticosteroids are still the gold standard, aloe vera shows promising results especially with no adverse effects compared with various adverse effects of corticosteroids. We recommend conducting new randomized clinical trials with larger sample size, sufficiently long follow-up period as well as standardized aloe vera formulations and outcome measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Periodontology, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.|Department of Oral Medicine and Periodontology, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Misr International University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3794-2491
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences and Engineering, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wahbi
mesh_terms: D000504:Aloe; D006801:Humans; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009067:Mouthwashes; D009824:Ointments; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: C586178:Aloe vera gel; D009067:Mouthwashes; D009824:Ointments; D028321:Plant Preparations
keywords: aloe vera; oral lichen planus; systematic review