Herbal derivatives in the management of mouth opening in oral submucous fibrosis-A network meta-analysis

Abstract

Objectives: Oral submucous fibrosis is a potentially malignant disorder commonly seen in Asian countries. In this disease, the mucosa becomes stiff and patients have difficulty in mouth opening, thus affecting their quality of life. Recently, practitioners are focusing on herbal derivatives instead of commonly practiced intralesional steroids for the management of this disorder. Hence, we conducted a network meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials on herbal derivatives to identify the most effective treatment for oral submucous fibrosis.

Materials and methods: Electronic search for articles published in various journals was undertaken through various search engines till January 2020. 14 articles were selected which had performed randomized control trials of herbal derivatives against control/placebo. Frequentist network meta-analysis was performed using R studio software, and effective treatment ranking was derived.

Results: The treatment ranking was generated, and relative to mouth opening, the most effective treatment was lycopene administered along with vitamin E and the second effective drug was aloe vera gel.

Conclusion: This network meta-analysis highlights the efficacy of some of the drugs of herbal origin which can be implemented by the practitioners in the management of initial stages of oral submucous fibrosis.

Keywords: aloe vera; areca; herbal medicine; lycopene; network meta-analysis; oral submucous fibrosis.