Coriander Oil Effective for Interdigital Tinea Pedis

BACKGROUND: The antifungal activity of coriander oil has already been demonstrated in vitro.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the efficacy and tolerability of 6% coriander oil in unguentum leniens in the treatment of interdigital tinea pedis.

METHODS: Half-side comparative pilot study on subjects with symmetric, bilateral interdigital tinea pedis. Active drug and placebo control were applied twice daily on the affected areas, and follow-up visits were performed on days 14 and 28.

RESULTS: 40 participants (mean age 52.5 years, 60% male) were included in the study. For 6% coriander oil in unguentum leniens, a highly significant improvement ofthe clinical signs (p < 0.0001) was observed during the entire observation period; the number of positive fungal cultures also tended to decrease (p = 0.0654). The tolerability of the tested substances was good.

CONCLUSION: Coriander oil is effective and well-tolerated in the treatment of interdigital tinea pedis.

Beikert FC, et al.Topical treatment of tinea pedis using 6% coriander oil in unguentum leniens: a randomized, controlled,comparative pilot study. Dermatology. 2013;226(1):47-51

OBJECTIVES: Chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (OM) is a debilitating side effect. In addition to standard therapy, patients often use complementary and alternative medicine to treat OM.

DESIGN: Double-blind randomized placebo controlled study assessing propolis (bee glue) efficacy for chemotherapy-induced severe OM treatment.

SETTING: University Children’s Hospital, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

INTERVENTIONS: Pediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy were randomly assigned to propolis (n=19) or placebo groups (n=21). Patients were introduced to a unified oral care protocol and asked to apply propolis or placebo to vestibular mucosa twice daily. Oral mucosa was assessed with the Oral Assessment Guide (OAG) twice a week when the patients were in hospital. Patients were followed for the period of the chemotherapy or for the first six months of the chemotherapy. An OAG score of three was considered to be severe OM and analysed.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Three dependent variables (a) OM episode frequency, (b) mean number of assessment visits, at which an OAG 3 score was noted, expressing mean OM duration, (c) mean number of OAG 3 scores expressing mean OM severity) were reduced to a single variable using principal component analysis. A new variable (FDS) was used as the dependent variable in ANCOVA model analysis to show the differences between study groups.

RESULTS: Severe OM was seen in 42% and 48% of patients in the propolis and placebo group, respectively. FDS was not statistically significant between study groups (p=0.59).

CONCLUSIONS: According to our study results, propolis cannot be recommended for severe OM treatment.

Tomaževič T, et al. A double blind randomized placebo controlled study of propolis (bee glue) effectiveness in the treatment of severe oral mucositis in chemotherapy treated children. Complement Ther Med. 2013 Aug;21(4):306-12.