Comparison of the efficacy of Hydroquinone cream versus Hydroquinone cream plus Danggui Shaoyao powder in the treatment of melasma

INTRODUCTION: Melasma is an acquired hypermelanosis and occurs in areas exposed to sunlight.

AIM: To investigate the effectiveness of Danggui Shaoyao powder (DSP) as a complementary drug in the treatment of melasma.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 40 melasma patients over the age of 18 who met the inclusion criteria entered the study randomly in two DSP + Hydroquinone (DSP + H) and Hydroquinone (H) groups.

RESULTS: At the beginning of the study, the average MASI score of the two groups of patients had no statistical difference (DSP + H: 15.79 ±1.01 vs. H: 15.37 ±1.17, p = 0.23).

But from the eighth week of treatment, the MASI score of the patients decreased significantly and in the DSP + H group it decreased statistically significantly compared to the H group (DSP + H: 5.83 ±0.97 vs. H: 8.29 ±2.23, p < 0.001 for the eighth week and DSP + H: 3.60 ±0.58 vs. H: 5.52 ±1.73, p < 0.001 for the twelfth week of the treatment).

It means after 12 weeks of treatment, the average MASI score of patients in the DSP + H group decreased by 77.26 ±2.70%, but in the grroup H, it decreased by 64.31 ±9.68% (p < 0.001).

Dynamic PGA showed that excellent treatment occurred in 65% of the + H group H, but only 20% of the H group (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: Oral DSP for 12 weeks along with hydroquinone cream can significantly reduce the MASI score of melasma patients and increase the patients’ recovery and satisfaction.