A clinical study of efficacy of garlic extract versus cryotherapy in the treatment of male genital wart

Abstract

Background/Objective: Genital warts are caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) and usually have no promising cure. Garlic (Allium sativum) belongs to Liliaceae family, which has a long history of medicinal use. The garlic extract had antiviral and anticarcinogenic effects and can be effective on complete resolution of cutaneous wart. The aim of this clinical study was to compare the garlic extract effect with cryotherapy in the treatment of male genital wart. Methods: 35 male patients aged 20–54 years old with clinically diagnosed genital warts who had more than two warts on both sides of genital region enrolled in the study. Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen (−196 °C temperature) was performed for all right sided warts and 10% garlic extract was applied on all left-sided warts for 2 months. Results: Regarding response to treatment, at the end of weeks 2, 4, 6 and 8 there was no significant difference between two groups (P > 0.05). 69.7% and 78.8% of patients showed complete clearing of the lesions in the garlic and cryotherapy groups respectively (P value, 0.39). Conclusions: The present study revealed 10% garlic extract after 2 months duration therapy on the male genital warts had the similar effect in compare to cryotherapy.