Berberis vulgaris juice and acne vulgaris: A placebo-controlled study

Abstract

It has previously shown that aqueous extract of dried Berberis vulgaris fruit is useful against inflamed and total acne lesions. This study aimed to investigate the role of fresh Berberis vulgaris fruit juice in decreasing acne lesion counts in a group of patients with mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris. A total of 38 volunteers with mild-to moderate acne vulgaris were enrolled in this study; double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. They received either 100 mL freshly prepared Berberis vulgaris fruit juice (n = 18, case group) or placebo (n = 20, control group) once daily for 30 consecutive days. Facial acne noninflamed, inflamed and total (noninflamed plus inflamed) lesions were counted at baseline, on week 2 and at endpoint (day 30) by an observer who was not aware of the grouping of patients. In the case group, there were 9 males (50%) and 9 females (50%) with a mean age of 16.1آ±3.9 years (Range: 12-25). In t h e control group, there were 9 males (45%) and 11 females (55%) with a mean age of 15.9آ±4.7 years (Range: 12-29). The two groups were matched for sex (p = 0.76) and age (p = 0.89). Changes in the mean count of noninflamed lesions were not different between the two groups (p = 0.33). In contrast, the mean number of inflamed and total acne lesions decreased significantly more pronounced in the case than in the control group (p = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively). In conclusion, this study showed t h a t fresh Berberis vulgaris fruit juice is effective against acne lesions in patients with mild-to-mo derate disease. é 2014 Asian Network for Scientific Information.