Effects of Zingiber officinalis (WILLD.) ROSC. Membranes on minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis: a randomized pragmatic trial

Objective: To evaluate the effects of dried ginger rhizome (DGR; Zingiber officinalis (WILLD.) ROSC.), prepared as a membrane, in minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis (miRAS) treatment and explore its mechanism of action by detecting changes in levels of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in saliva. Methods: Fifty-nine miRAS patients were enrolled in this study. The number of participants in the dried ginger rhizome membrane (DGRM) group was 30, and 29 were in the placebo membrane (PM) group. Sixty sealed envelopes containing either type of membrane were coded randomly. Investigators and participants were blinded to group assignments. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used for pain, follow-up information for healing time, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to measure the concentrations of EGF and TNF-α. Results: In terms of VAS, there was a significant difference between pre- and post-DGRM treatment (P < .001), but not so for the PM group (P > .05). A significant difference was observed in the healing time between the two groups (6.08 (2.712) vs. 8.04 (2.142) days). The mean healing time in the DGRM group was shorter than that in the PM group (P < .05). In both groups, the salivary EGF concentration decreased significantly after treatment (P < .05), but the mean level in the DGRM group was significantly lower than that in the PM group (P < .05). The mean TNF-α level in both groups was increased significantly after treatment (P < .05), but patients who used DGRMs had a significantly lower level than that in the PM group (P < .05). Conclusion: The present study provides evidence that DGRMs are effective treatment for RAS. Dried ginger rhizome has obvious effects on pain relief, shortening of healing time, reducing the EGF level in saliva, and has an inhibitory effect on TNF-α release