Evidence-based effectiveness of herbal treatment modality for recurrent aphthous ulcers – A systematic review and meta-analysis

Recurrent Apthous Ulcers (RAU) has affected mankind through time immemorial. It is the most commonly prevalent oral mucosal lesion manifesting as painful ulcers involving non – keratinised oral mucosa. This review was done to assess herbal intervention in RAU patients for outcomes of ulcer size and pain intensity. Literature search of published articles in Medline, Scopus, Ovid and Journal of Web upto August 2020 were reviewed for the pre-described outcomes. Revman 5.4 software was used for study analysis. Total 9 articles were finally chosen for qualitative analysis. Meta analytic comparison demonstrated the ulcer reduction (CI = -2.22 to – 0.09; p <0.001) and pain intensity (CI = -4.60 to – 0.08; p <0.001) was reduced in the herbal group as compared to the controls. A definite evidence of herbal intervention was noted in alleviating RAU signs and symptoms.