The therapeutic effectiveness of green tea leaf extract on clinical symptoms in children suffering viral gastroenteritis: A randomized clinical trial

Background: Due to the lack of adequate effectiveness of synthetic drugs and the replacement of fluids and electrolytes in the treatment of acute gastroenteritis in children, the use of herbal and complementary medicine has received special attention today. The aim of this clinical trial study was to evaluate the effect of green tea consumption in improving pediatric viral gastroenteritis. Methods: This study was performed as a randomized clinical trial in which a group of children aged 2 to 17 years suffered from diarrhea and had not been treated within 48 hours of the clinical appearance were randomly assigned to receive green tea leaf extract (GTE) tablet on the first day of the week and irrigation solutions in other days of the week; or receiving only irrigation solutions on all days of the week as the control. Treatment (prescribing the tablets) was continued until a Bristol Stool Scale of 3 or 4 was obtained. Results: The complete and partial improvement was revealed in 63.2% and 31.6% respectively in the GTE group while only in 15.8% and 57.9% respectively in control group indicating a significant difference (p <0.001). The increase in the number of tablets led to higher improvement rate in response to GTE prescription. The mean hospital stay in GTE and control groups was also 1.66 ± 0.63 days and 3.36 ± 0.4 days indicated shorter hospitalization in former group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: the use of GTE leads to effectively improve the diarrhea as well as to reduce the hospital stay in children suffering viral gastroenteritis.