Preliminary investigation of a combined herbal extract of Aruncus dioicus, Cirsium nipponicum, and Ocimum basilicum for halitosis

Abstract

Background: Halitosis, the unpleasant odor in the oral cavity, has garnered increased attention and concern due to the growing significance of social interaction. SGE-107, a blend of 3 botanical drugs―Korean goat’s beard, Cirsium tanakae, and Basil―with caffeic acid as its indicator component. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of SGE-107 in treating halitosis in patients with mild gastrointestinal symptoms. Methods: We enrolled 25 participants with oral malodor and dyspeptic symptoms. We assessed the severity of halitosis using the visual analog scale. Throughout a 4-week period of administering SGE-107, we evaluated both objective and subjective parameters, including the halitosis-associated life-quality test, the Korean gastrointestinal symptom rating scale, levels of volatile sulfur compounds, salivary flow rate, oral moisture, tongue index, Winkel tongue coating index, and tongue temperature. Results: After the intervention period, both the visual analog scale (5.88 ± 1.03 vs 2.38 ± 0.93, P < .001) and the scores of the halitosis-associated life-quality test (31.21 ± 11.78 vs 13.83 ± 6.38, P < .001) showed significant reductions. The proportion of participants with abnormal levels of methyl mercaptan (a volatile sulfur compound) also significantly decreased (17, 70.8% vs 9, 37.5%, P = .039). Furthermore, there were significant improvements in reflux, constipation, diarrhea, and the total scores on the Korean gastrointestinal symptom rating scale. Throughout the study period, only 2 participants experienced mild adverse events. Conclusion: SGE-107 appears to be a safe and effective treatment for halitosis-associated with gastrointestinal symptoms; nevertheless, the limited sample size necessitates further large-scale randomized, controlled studies to confirm our findings.