Can we consider silymarin as a treatment option for vitiligo? A double-blind controlled randomized clinical trial of phototherapy plus oral Silybum marianum product versus phototherapy alone

Abstract

Introduction: Vitiligo is a chronic skin disorder caused by destruction of the skin melanocytes, which presents as a depigmented area in the skin. This study examined the effect of Phototherapy plus oral Silybummarianum on the treatment of skin lesions of Vitiligo.

Materials and methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 34 patients with vitiligo who were referred to Dermatology Clinic of Shahid Faghihi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, were randomly divided into two groups. The first group was treated with phototherapy plus Narrowband UVB plus oral silymarin and the other group was treated with phototherapy with placebo. The patients in both groups were evaluated with vitiligo area severity index (VASI) at the beginning and end of the study. SPSS software version 23 was used for statistical analyses.

Results: The mean of the VASI score showed a statistically significant decrease in both groups at the end of the study (p < .05), but the decrease in the VASI score in patients who received Silybum marianum was more in comparison with the other group.

Conclusion: This study showed that probably Silybum marianum is a good choice for patients with vitiligo; however, further studies are recommended to be conducted to confirm our result.

Keywords:

• Vitiligo
• silymarin
• Silybum marianum
• phototherapy

Acknowledgments

The present article was extracted from the thesis written by Hamid Godarzi, MD, as a part of the requirements for a degree in dermatology and financially supported by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences grant No. 94–01-01–10951.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported by Vice Chancellor of Research of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Grant No: 94–01-01–10951).