Comparing pomegranate extract and chlorhexidine mouthwashes in treatment of recurrent intraoral herpes

Abstract EN

Background/aim Herpes simplex virus is a frequently encountered contagious infectivity causing several diseases.

The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of pomegranate peel extract and chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwashes in the treatment of recurrent intraoral herpes (RIOH), a clinical form of herpes simplex virus infection.

Patients and methods A total of 12 immunocompetent patients aged from 18 to 35 years with RIOH lesions affecting their keratinized mucosa were selected.

The participants were randomly divided into two groups: group I (pomegranate group, n=6) was treated using pharmacologically prepared pomegranate peel extract mouthwash and group II (CHX group, n=6) was treated using CHX mouthwash.

Both treatment modalities were used three times per /day for 10 days.

Pain and erythema scores were recorded at 2, 4, 6, and 8 days from baseline in both study groups to assess the effect of mouthwashes used.

Results Pain and erythema scores showed statistically significant decrease by time in both groups.

A higher mean score was recorded in group II, with statistically significant difference in pain scores, but this difference did not reach the level of significance as regarding the erythema score.

The percentage of change in both pain and erythema scores revealed better and superior improvement in group I than group II.

Conclusion Pomegranate peel extract mouthwash was more effective in reducing pain and accelerating wound healing when compared with CHX as topical treatment for RIOH.