Herbal Aloe Vera Juice, the Potent Mouth Wash for Treatment of Oral Mucositis Caused by Chemo and Radiation Therapy in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer

By Kyle J. Norton

Aloe vera may have a potential effect in reducing the oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer, some scientists suggested.

Head and neck cancer is a class of cancers that start in the mouth, throat, larynx, sinuses, or salivary glands.

At the early stage, cells on the surface of the inner lining associated with head and neck start to grow irregularly and disorderly.

However, at the advanced stage, as cancer has penetrated into the deeper layers, patients may experience symptoms of a lump in the nose, neck or throat, with or without pain, a persistent sore throat that does not heal, trouble swallowing (dysphagia) and frequent and persistent coughing.

In some cases at the advanced stage, cancer cells may travel a distance away from the original site to infect other healthy tissue and organs.

Most common head and neck cancer metastases are secondary skin cancer.

Oral mucositis is one of the common side effects in cancer patients who are under chemo and radiation treatment, leading to symptoms of pain, nutritional problems as a result of an inability to eat, and increased risk of infection due to open sores in the mucosa.

The symptom has been found to reduce the quality of life of cancer patients.

According to The Oral Cancer Foundation, patients experience the side effect of oral mucositis after 5 to 10 days of chemotherapy. Normally, the side effect will disappear itself in short few weeks, depending on the types of medicine, doses, and duration of the treatment.

Dr. Begonya Chaveli-López, the lead author in the study "Treatment of oral mucositis due to chemotherapy" wrote, "Very few interventions of confirmed efficacy are available for the management of oral mucositis due to chemotherapy. However, according to the reviewed literature, the use of palifermin, cryotherapy and low power laser offer benefits, reducing the incidence and severity of oral mucositis".

On finding a natural and effective ingredient for the treatment of oral mucositis with no side effects, researchers examined the topical Aloe vera, a widely used for mild sunburn, frostbites, and scalding burns for its effect on mucositis.

Aloe gel showed the beneficial effects for wound healing, mucous membrane protection, and treatment of oral ulcers.

Application of Aloe gel also enhanced the anti-inflammatory, immunomodulation, antifungal, scavenging free radicals, increasing collagen formation and inhibiting collagenase, epidemiological studies suggested.

Oral Aloe vera mouthwash demonstrated a significant prevention of radiation-induced mucositis by its wound healing and anti-inflammatory mechanism.

The herbal mouthwash also reduced oral candidiasis of patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy due to its antifungal and immunomodulatory properties.

These efficacies indicated that Aloe vera mouthwash may be considered an alternative potential for treating radiation-induced oral mucositis and candidiasis in patients with head and neck cancers.

Futhermore, in the finding the most effective agent for treatment of oral mucositis, the Haji Mirza Mohammad conducted a triple-blind, randomized controlled trial in the comparison of the Aloe vera mouthwash with a benzydamine mouthwash in the alleviation of radiation-induced mucositis in head and neck cancer patients.

The trial included 26 eligible head and neck cancer patients who were to receive conventional radiation therapy at the radiation oncology department were randomized to receive an Aloe vera mouthwash or a benzydamine mouthwash.

No difference in the distribution of mucositis severity between the two groups, at the baseline.

The mean interval between radiation therapy and the onset of mucositis was similar for both groups.

The mean interval between the start of radiation therapy and the maximum severity of mucositis were was also similar in both the Aloe vera and benzydamine groups (Aloe vera 23.38±10.75 days, benzydamine 23.54±15.45 days).

According to the comparison test researchers suggested that the Aloe vera mouthwash could be an alternative agent in the treatment of radiation-induced mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer due to its exertion of the similar effects as of those of beneficial as benzydamine mouthwash in alleviating the severity of radiation-induced mucositis with no side effects.

Taken altogether, herbal Aloe vera juice may be considered a functional juice for the treatment of the side effect of oral mucositis caused by chemo and radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) ALOE VERA by Gertrude Baldwin, http://www.herballegacy.com/Baldwin_Chemical.html
(2) Potential prevention: Aloe vera mouthwash may reduce radiation-induced oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients. by Ahmadi A.(PubMed)
(3) Comparative Efficacy of Aloe vera and Benzydamine Mouthwashes on Radiation-induced Oral Mucositis: A Triple-blind, Randomised, Controlled Clinical Trial by Sahebjamee M, Mansourian A, Hajimirzamohammad M, Zadeh MT, Bekhradi R, Kazemian A, Manifar S, Ashnagar S, Doroudgar K.(PubMed)