Pearls

Abstract

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects 0.52% of the population, being more common in middle-aged adults and with a higher prevalence in women. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of turmeric in the treatment of OLP, both orally (2000 and 6000 mg tablets, and 80 mg sina-curcumin) and topically (1% nano curcumin gel and curcumin in orabase). Ten studies involving 355 patients were analyzed, evaluating variables such as erythema, lesion size, pain, duration of treatment, and type of study (randomized or not). The results showed that turmeric did not produce a significant improvement in erythema (SMD = -0.14; 95% CI, -0.68 to 0.40; p=0.61) or lesion size (SMD = -0.15; 95% CI, -0.45 to 0.15; p=0.33). However, a significant reduction in pain was observed in treatments longer than 2 weeks (SMD = -1.21; 95% CI, -2.19 to -0.23; p=0.01) and in nonrandomized studies. In conclusion, although turmeric does not improve erythema or lesion size in OLP, it may reduce pain in prolonged treatments longer than 2 weeks.