Effects of Mahonia aquifolium ointment on the expression of adhesion, proliferation, and activation markers in the skin of patients with psoriasis. Mahonia aquifolium-a new type of topical treatment for psoriasis.Īugustin M, Andrees U, Grimme H, et al. Mahonia aquifolium in patients with Psoriasis vulgaris-an intraindividual study. Laboratory research suggests Oregon grape has some effects at the cellular level that might be helpful in psoriasis, such as slowing the rate of abnormal cell growth and reducing inflammation.
OREGON GRAPE TRIAL
Group, it’s not possible to know whether Oregon grape was truly responsible for the improvement seen, but the trial does help to establish the herb's safety and tolerability. Open study in which 443 participants with psoriasis used Oregon grape topically for 12 weeks found the herb to be helpful for 73.7% of the group. Greater improvements were seen in the dithranol group. The physicians evaluating changes in skin tissue were unaware which treatments had been used on the samples. Skin biopsies were then analyzed and compared with samples taken at the beginning of the study. Forty-nine participants applied one treatment to their left side and the other to their right for 4 weeks. Regrettably, the authors fail to state whether this study was double-blind. However, the study design had a significant flaw: the treatment salve was darker in color than the placebo, possibly allowing participants to guess which was which.Īnother study found that dithranol, a conventional drug used to treat psoriasis symptoms, was more effective than Oregon grape. The treatment was well tolerated, though in a few people it caused rash or burning sensation.īenefits were also seen in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 82 people with psoriasis. The results indicate that the people using Oregon grape experienced greater benefits than those in the placebo group, and the difference was statistically significant. In a double-blind study published in 2006, two hundred people were given either a cream containing 10% Oregon grape extract or placebo twice a day for 3 months. Studies and one comparative trial suggest that cream made from the herb Oregon grape may help reduce symptoms of psoriasis, although it does not seem to be as effective as standard medications.
(For more information, see the article on In addition, impossibly high dosages of the herb would be required to duplicate the amount of berberine used in many of these studies. Many studies have been performed on purified berberine, a major chemical constituent of Oregon grape and other herbs such as goldenseal, but it is not clear whether their results apply to the whole herb. The results failed to show benefit overall. For example, a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 88 people with eczema tested a cream containing extracts of However, the evidence is either extremely preliminary or inconclusive. Oregon grape has been proposed as a treatment for other skin diseases, such as fungal infections (such as
Growing evidence suggests that it may help reduce symptoms, although it does not seem to be as effective for this purpose as standard medications. Oregon grape is primarily used today as a topical treatment for