NB-UVB plus oral Polypodium leucotomos extract display higher efficacy than NB-UVB alone in patients with vitiligo

Polypodium Leucotomos displayed synergic effect with NB-UVB in psoriasis, but its application on vitiligo remains understudied. The aim of this study was to investigate whether oral supplementation with an extract from the leaves of the fern Polypodium Leucotomos (PL) improves narrow band (NB) UVB phototherapy-induced repigmentation. Forty-four patients with generalized vitiligo were enrolled in this randomized, prospective, placebo controlled study. Twenty-three patients were randomly selected to receive combined treatment with NB UVB phototherapy with 480 mg oral PL given twice daily while twenty-one patients received NB UVB phototherapy combined with placebo. All subjects were treated with NB UVB on a twice weekly schedule and treatment was continued up to 6 months. Our results demonstrated that the oral intake of PL to NB UVB improved the extent of repigmentation as well as increased the response rate compared with patients treated with NB UVB alone (47.8% vs 22%). Our study suggests that oral supplementation of PL to NB UVB phototherapy enhance the extent of repigmentation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.