Effect of cedar honey in the treatment of oral lichen planus

Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) is a chronic mucocutaneous disease with an immunological etiology. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of cedar honey in the treatment of erosive- atrophic OLP.

Thirty patients with a confirmed clinical and histopathologic diagnosis of OLP participated in this randomized clinical trial in Mashhad Dental School. Patients were randomly allocated into one of two groups. Both groups received standard OLP treatment (dexamethasone mouthwash 0.5 mg three times daily and fluconazole capsule 100 mg daily). The intervention group received cedar honey (20 ml three times daily, via a swish and swallow technique) in addition to standard treatment. The patients were followed for 4 weeks. The pain and severity of the lesions were recorded at the initial visit and follow ups. All recorded data were analyzed using the chi-square test, T-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS version 11.5. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Both groups had a marked reduction in pain, size of erosive area, and atrophic lesions, particularly in the first follow-up period, but there was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Honey was effective in the healing of ulcerative lesions (average recovery in the experimental group was 69% while the average relief of ulcerative lesion in the control group was 50%), but the difference was not significant (P=0.896).

No significant difference was found in the treatment of atrophic and erosive lesions of OLP through use of honey as an alternative treatment. However, this approach may be effective in managing ulcerative lesions of OLP; although more research with a larger sample size is necessary.