A trial of oolong tea in the management of recalcitrant atopic dermatitis

Background: Mild cases of atopic dermatitis (AD) generally improve with sta ndard treatment. However, standard treatment fails many patients with recal citrant AD skin lesions. Study results in animal models have demonstrated t hat the administration of tea (ie, green, black, or oolong) has suppressed type I and type IV allergic reactions. Objective: To test the effectiveness of oolong tea in the treatment of reca lcitrant AD. Patients: Although 121 patients with recalcitrant AD were enrolled in the s tudy, 118 patients completed the open study. Methods: Patients were asked to maintain their dermatological treatment. Ho wever, they were also instructed to drink oolong tea made from a 10-g teaba g placed in 1000 mt of boiling water and steeped for 5 minutes. This amount was then divided into 3 equal servings and 1 serving was drunk daily after 3 regular meals. Photographs of 2 or 3 representative lesion sites were ta ken at baseline and at 1 and 6 months and the severity of pruritus was asse ssed on a 6-point Lickert-like scale ranging horn markedly improved (>50% i mprovement) to worsened. Results: After 1 month of treatment 74 (63%) of the 118 patients showed mar ked to moderate improvement of their condition. The beneficial effect was f irst noticed after 1 or 2 weeks of treatment. A good response to treatment was still observed in 64 patients (54%) at 6 months. Conclusion: The therapeutic efficacy of oolong tea in recalcitrant AD may w ell be the result of the antiallergic properties of tea polyphenols.