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Topical Kunzea Oil No Help for Psoriasis

No difference in efficacy with addition of kunzea oil to liquor carbonis detergens and salicylic acid

TUESDAY, Aug. 18, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The addition of kunzea oil does not improve the efficacy of topical psoriasis treatments containing liquor carbonis detergens (LCD) and salicylic acid, according to a study published online Aug. 12 in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics.

Jackson Thomas, Ph.D., from the University of Canberra in Australia, and colleagues randomized 30 patients (mean age, 52.8 years) with mild to moderate psoriasis to receive ointment and/or scalp lotion containing 20 percent kunzea oil (test group) or control medications not containing kunzea oil (control group). All formulations contained 5 percent LCD and 3 percent salicylic acid.

The researchers found that after eight weeks of treatment, both test and control groups demonstrated a significant (P < 0.05) improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index scores. There were no significant differences between the groups in comparative efficacy analysis (P > 0.05).

“The inclusion of kunzea oil made no difference to the efficacy of topical formulations containing LCD and salicylic acid for the treatment of psoriasis,” the authors write.

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