Comparing the effects of lycopene and corticosteroids on oral lichen planus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background and Aims: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an inflammatory disease of autoimmune nature and there is no definitive treatment for it. Currently, topical and systemic corticosteroids are accepted as the gold standard in the treatment of OLP, which have significant side effects. Today, the tendency towards natural medicines with antioxidant properties as an alternative treatment has increased due to their low side effects. The main objective of this systematic review was the meta-analysis focused on comparing the effects of lycopene as a herbal intervention and corticosteroids on OLP in clinical trials.

Methods and Materials: The search by using keywords was performed through the databases provided by Pubmed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus until March 2023. After removing duplicate articles and screening them based on eligibility criteria, 5 articles remained and were considered for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Findings: Based on the meta-analysis, no significant difference was observed between the lycopene and corticosteroid groups in terms of pain reduction and improvement of clinical symptoms after treatment. Lycopene was well tolerated and no specific side effects were reported. The results of the systematic review showed the significant effect of lycopene in the treatment of OLP.

Results: The results of this meta-analysis can be useful because no significant side effects have been identified for lycopene. Therefore, it may be used instead of steroids.