Effect of honey for treatment of some common oral lesions: Follow up of 50 cases

Abstract

Honey is the nectar that is collected from many plants and processed by honey bees (Apis mellifera). This study is a pilot study that observes and evaluates the clinical efficacy of topical application of honey bees in treatment of some common inflammatory, vesiculobullous and ulcerative oral lesions. A total number of 50 patients complaining of different oral lesions were enrolled in this study. Oral lesions were distributed as follows: 19 recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), 5 recurrent herpes labialis (RHL), 2 recurrent intraoral herpes (RIOH), 18 atrophic/erosive oral lichen planus (OLP), 4 oral candidiasis and 2 oral psoriasis. Diagnosis of oral lesions was based either on clinical presentation and history in some oral lesions as in RHL or clinical and histopathological features. At the end of the study, the different oral lesions responded promptly to local application of honey. Clinical anecdotal evidence supporting the beneficial use of honey as a remedy for some common intraoral lesions was found.   Key words: Honey, oral lesions, aphthus stomatitis, lichen planus.