Flavonoid Ointment Has Potential

In a study by Ukrainian researchers, a flavonoid ointment derived from propolis (which is made by bees from tree resin) proved to be more effective than acyclovir and placebo for the treatment of genital herpes.In the single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, 90 men and women with chronic genital Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 applied either 3 percent propolis, 5 percent acyclovir, or placebo ointments for 10 days during a herpes relapse.After 3 days of treatment, volunteers in the propolis group had significantly fewer symptoms than those in the placebo group, but not in the acyclovir group.

After 10 days of treatment, significantly more volunteers in the propolis group than in the acyclovir and placebo groups had lesions that were completely healedIn contrast with acyclovir, propolis helped to reduce bacterial outgrowth in women and was effective when treatment was initiated in the blister phase.Source: Vynograd N, Vynograd I, Sosnowski Z. A comparative multi-centre study of the efficacy of propolis, acyclovir and placebo in the treatment of genital herpes.
Phytomedicine. 2000;7(1):1-6.
©2000 by Integrative Medicine Communications