Rajeshwari G et al.: Efficacy of Prak-20 and Garlic in Oral Submucous Fibrosis

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a potentially malignant condition, chiefly associated with the practice of chewing arecanut. Though numerous treatment modalities have been tried but all are palliative and have no curative value. Hence, present preliminary clinical trial was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of PRAK-20; a herbomineral compound and Garlic in the management of OSMF. METHODS: Forty study subjects with OSMF were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups with 20 subjects in each group. Group A received garlic, 2 pearls; thrice daily and Group B received one 500mg PRAK-20 capsule, three times a day for three months. Results were analyzed with SPSS 19.0 version using ANOVA, paired ttest, unpaired ttest. RESULTS: Garlic and PRAK -20 showed a statistically significant reduction in burning sensation by81.8% and 75.4% respectively, improvement in mouth opening by 3.5±0.1mm and 4.6±1.0 mm respectively and tongue protrusion by 4.4±0.1 mm and 4.9±1.5 mm respectively. Maximum mouth opening of 6mm and 10 mm was found in group A and B respectively. CONCLUSION: The parameters showed a significant improvement in both the groups. Though Garlic had shown better results in terms of reduction in burning sensation; PRAK-20 had shown better results in other parameters. Improvement in the clinical parameters obtained in our patients is a promising finding towards establishing the use of garlic and PRAK-20 as a therapeutic agent in OSMF.