Aloe vera juice and acne vulgaris: A placebo-controlled study

Abstract

Lately, it has been shown that topical Aloe vera extract is effective against acne lesions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of oral Aloe vera juice in a group of patients with mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial, 40 volunteers with mild-to moderate acne vulgaris were randomized equally into two, age and sex-matched groups, receiving either 50 cc of freshly prepared Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) juice or placebo once daily for 30 consecutive days. Facial acne noninflamed, inflamed and total (noninflamed plus inflamed) lesion counts were documented at baseline on week 2 and at endpoint (day 30) by an observer who was blind to the grouping of patients. There were 12 males (60%) and 8 females (40%) with a mean age of 17.5آ±5.1 years (range: 12-27) in the case group and 10 males (20%) and 10 females (20%) with a mean age of 17.4آ±5.6 years (range: 12-29) in the control group (p = 0.53 and 0.98, respectively). Although, the mean number of inflamed and total acne lesions decreased frombaseline to the endpoint in the case group, these changes were not statistically different from those documented in the control group (p = 0.96 and 0.91, respectively). In conclusion, oral Aloe vera juice may be helpful in decreasing noninflamed and total facial acne lesion counts in patients with mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris, this beneficial effect is not significant when compared to controls. é 2014 Asian Network for Scientific Information.