BACKGROUND: Phytomedicines have been well-accepted alternative complementary therapies for the treatment of a wide range of acute and chronic skin inflammatory diseases including chronic herpes, prurigo, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis (AD). A plethora of in vitro and in vivo studies have evidenced the therapeutic viability of phytomedicines, polyherbal formulations, plant-based materials and their decoctions for the treatment of mild-to-severe AD.
OBJECTIVE: This review was aimed to summarize and critically discuss the convincing evidence for the therapeutic effectiveness of phytomedicines for the treatment of AD and explore their anti-AD efficacy.
RESULTS: The critical analysis of a wide algorithm of herbal medicines revealed that their remarkable anti-AD efficacy is attributed to their potential of reducing erythema intensity, oedema, inflammation, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and a remarkable suppression of mRNA expression of ADassociated inflammatory biomarkers including histamine, immunoglobulin (Ig)-E, prostaglandins, mast cells infiltration and production of cytokines and chemokines in the serum and skin biopsies.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, herbal medicines hold great promise as complementary and alternative therapies for the treatment of mild-to-moderate AD when used as monotherapy and for the treatment of moderate-to-severe AD when used in conjunction with other pharmacological agents.
* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.