Amul S Bahl
Background: Acne is a long-term skin disease largely affecting teenagers and adults. Many different treatments exist for acne, though some with a number of side effects. Under complementary medicine, many plant extracts/oils are effective for acne. However, with few studies on rats or on small sample sizes, clinical efficacy of such extracts needs more human trials.
Objective: Based on the concept of Ayurveda Plant Nanocellopathy, the proposed plant-extract based gel is a polyherbal, natural, novel, safe and unique synergistic blend of extracts/oil to treat facial acne. The study objectives are to scientifically establish the efficacy and safety aspects of the proposed acne gel.
Methodology: A single centre, randomized, controlled, parallel group, and comparative study with 100 adult participants having facial acne problem was conducted. The participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were allocated between two study arms (test and comparator) in the ratio of 1:1 using randomisation. The safety of the natural acne gel was carried out on the tolerability score based on the parameters of erythema, scaling, peeling, burning, induration and dryness.
Findings: The inter-group analysis, comparing the mean difference in the acne severity score for both treatment groups, indicates that significantly more number of participants in test group reported faster improvement in acne score as compared to the comparator group. Participants in comparator group experienced more side-reactions and more severe side-reactions as compared to the test group.
Conclusion: It was observed that number of participants exhibiting facial acne in test group showed significant and faster improvement in comparison to the comparator group. The side-reactions was minimal in test group vis-à-vis comparator group. Hence, the test product Acne Pro Gel was found to be safe and effective in the faster treatment of facial acne.
