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Curcumin Versus Corticosteroids for Symptomatic Oral Lichen Planus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

  • 2025-09-22
  • Clinical and experimental dental research 11(5)
    • Sadeq A Al-Maweri
    • Gamilah Al-Qadhi
    • Ahmed Yaseen Alqutaibi
    • Nadhem M Sallam
    • Mounzer Assad
    • Mahfoudh A Abdulghani
    • Marwan Mansoor Ali Mohammed

Study Design

Type
Meta-Analysis
Population
499 OLP patients
Methods
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 clinical trials comparing curcumin to corticosteroids
Funding
Unclear

Objectives

The management of oral lichen planus (OLP) is challenging, with no definitive cure available. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of curcumin in managing OLP.

Material and methods

A comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar was conducted for relevant clinical trials published up to March 31, 2025. All clinical trials comparing the efficacy of curcumin to corticosteroids were included. A meta-analysis was conducted on studies with available numerical data to assess the efficacy of curcumin relative to the control group.

Results

Eleven clinical trials, involving 499 OLP patients, were included in this review, with nine studies were incorporated into the meta-analysis. All studies reported curcumin to be efficacious in alleviating the signs and symptoms of OLP. Pooled data showed significantly better efficacy of curcumin in reducing pain at 1 week (SMD, -0.70; 95% CI, -1.33, -0.07; p = 0.03; I2 = 66%) compared with corticosteroids. However, no significant differences were observed between the two groups at the 2-, 4-, and 12-week follow-ups. Additionally, curcumin and corticosteroids demonstrated comparable efficacy in clinical improvement of lesions across different time points.

Conclusions

The available evidence suggests that curcumin has promising effects in managing OLP. However, due to methodological limitations, including significant heterogeneity among the studies and a high risk of bias in most of them, further well-designed studies with adequate follow-up periods are needed.

Research Insights

  • Turmeric→Improved Clinical Lesion Score

    curcumin and corticosteroids demonstrated comparable efficacy in clinical improvement of lesions across different time points.

    Effect
    Neutral
    Effect size
    Small
  • Turmeric→Reduced Pain

    no significant differences were observed between the two groups at the 2-, 4-, and 12-week follow-ups.

    Effect
    Neutral
    Effect size
    Small
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