Volume 172, 22 August 2015, Pages 325–332
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Atopic
dermatitis is a common chronic inflammatory skin condition that is on
the rise and adversely affects quality of life of the affected
individual. Dry skin and pruritus, major characteristics of this
disease, are associated with the dysfunction of the skin barrier. Though
mild cases of the disease can be controlled with antihistamines and
topical corticosteroids, moderate-to-severe cases often require
treatment with immunomodulatory drugs, which have many side effects. It
is now more common to use complementary and alternative medicines in the
treatment of atopic dermatitis. In traditional Iranian medicine, the
use of whey with the aqueous extract of field dodder (Cuscuta campestris Yunck.) seeds in severe and refractory cases of atopic dermatitis is common and has no side effects.
The
aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of whey
associated with dodder seed extract in the treatment of
moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in adults.
Materials and methods
The
study was a randomized, double-blind placebo control trial that was
conducted on 52 patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis for
30 days. In this study patients received freeze dried whey powder with
spray dried water extract of field dodder or the placebo for 15 days. At
baseline (week zero), after the end of the 15 day treatment period
(week three) and 15 days after stopping the drug or placebo
(follow-up/week five), patients were evaluated in terms of skin
moisture, elasticity, pigmentation, surface pH and sebum content on the
forearm with Multi Skin Test Center® MC1000 (Courage & Khazaka,
Germany) and the degree of pruritus and sleep disturbance in patients
were also recorded.
Results
42
patients completed 30 days of treatment with the medicine and the
follow-up period. At the end of the follow-up period a significant
increase in skin moisture and elasticity in the group receiving whey
with dodder was observed compared with the placebo group (p<0.001).
There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding the
pruritus after 15 days of receiving treatment or the placebo (p<0.05), and at the end of the 30-day study period the difference was clearly significant (p<0.001). Sleep disturbance showed significant changes at the end of follow-up period (p<0.05).
There was no significant difference between the two groups concerning
changes in skin pigmentation, however, a significant decrease was
observed in the group receiving whey associated with dodder seed extract
over time (p<0.001). There were no significant alterations
in skin surface pH and the amount of sebum between the two groups.
Temporary side effects were reported including anorexia and mild
gastrointestinal problems in drug use.
It is
noteworthy that in this study despite the fact that patients received
whey with dodder for just 15 days, moisture and elasticity of the skin
continued to increase in the second half of the study (follow-up
period). This shows that the effect of whey with dodder is not transient
and this drug really helped skin barrier reconstruction and accelerated
the healing process of skin. This positively influenced the skin
parameters and consequently the improvement of pruritus and sleep
disturbance.
Conclusions
The
results indicate that whey associated with dodder seed extract can serve
as a promising alternative for the treatment of moderate-to-severe
atopic dermatitis.
Trial registration
Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT2013121415790N1.
Graphical abstract
Chemical compounds studied in this article
- Quercetin (PubChem CID: 5280343);
- Kaempferol (PubChem CID: 5280863);
- Rutin (PubChem CID: 5280805)
Keywords
- Eczema;
- Flavonoids;
- Traditional medicine;
- Atopic dermatitis;
- Whey associated with dodder seed extract
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
