Comparison of Glycyrrhiza glabra Inorabase With Triamcinolone Acetonide Orabase in the Treatment of Oral Lichen Planus

Abstract

Background: Lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory mucocutaneous disease that is most commonly found in middle-aged women. A wide spectrum of topical and systemic therapies have been applied for treatment of this condition. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of 1% Glycyrrhiza glabra in orabase with 0.1% Triamcinolone Acetonide paste in treating oral lichen planus (OLP). Patients and Methods: In this study, 22 patients were randomly assigned to one of two equal groups. They received either Glycyrrhiza glabra or Triamcinolone Acetonide four times daily for a total of one month and were followed-up for three months. The patients were assessed for painful symptoms, measured by the visual analogue scale (VAS), and lesion size via Thongaprassom. The analysis and comparison of pain scores and the size of the lesions' clinical and symptomatic response rates between the two groups were performed using the Mann-Whitney U-test and SPSS 13.0 computer software. Results: Ten patients in the Glycyrrhiza glabra group and 12 patients in the triamcinolone acetonid group completed the four-month trial course. Both Glycyrrhiza glabra and Triamcinolone Acetonid reduced burning symptoms. Clinical scores in both groups also significantly improved over the one-month treatment period. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.442). Conclusions: This study showed that topical Glycyrrhiza glabra appeared to be a promising alternative in the treatment of OLP. Further studies should be conducted to assess the long-term effects of Glycyrrhiza glabra.