Treatment with Herbal Mouthwash Mediates Improvement of Symptoms in Xerostomia and Oral Mucositis patients

Abstract

Oral discomfort and pain are frequent side-effects of many popular prescription medications. Over 500 prescription drugs are known to result in the development of adverse oral conditions. In fact, approximately 40% of patients suffer from xerostomia and oral mucositis, as a result of cancer medications. The number of affected individuals is expected to continue to rise, given that the incidence of major cancers is predicted to grow over the next decade. Regrettably, there are currently lacks of treatments available to effectively improve xerostomia and oral mucositis symptoms. Interestingly, the use of several herbal ingredients (such as chamomile, cinnamon, and peppermint oil) has been reported to effectively improve pain and oral dryness. For this reason, we examined the effectiveness of an herbal mouthwash, Nature’s Herbal (a blend of cinnamon oil, chamomile, cranberry, and peppermint extract), to alleviate symptoms of oral pain and dry mouth exhibited by patients diagnosed with oral mucositis and xerostomia. Daily treatment with the mouthwash induced a 53% ± 6% and 33.2% ± 3.8% improvement in the severity of symptom, for the oral mucositis and xerostomia patients groups, respectively. Overall, the herbal mouthwash induced an improvement in 91% of oral mucositis and 83% of xerostomia patients.