Efficacy of topical curcuma longa and nigella sativa combination for feline head and neck dermatitis: an open pilot study

Abstract

Two medicinal plants, Curcuma longa (turmeric) and Nigella sativa (black cumin), have generated growing interest for their therapeutic antiinflammatory action. We hypothesize that commercially available topical C. longa and N. sativa cream (Dermacumin cream®) will significantly decrease both the Feline Dermatitis Extent (FDE) and Severity Index (SI) and the pruritus scores after 3 weeks of twice-daily treatment of feline head and neck dermatitis. Ten client-owned cats with feline head and neck dermatitis which had received no previous treatment. FDE and SI scores gradually decreased on days 7 (P<0.001) and 28 (P<0.0001) compared to day 0. Similarly, decreased Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores were detected on days 7 and 28 (P<0.0001). Cats receiving the herbal cream for 3 weeks all had significantly decreased FDE and SI scores, from 171.8 to 0 (P<0.0001), and VAS scores from 6.3 to 0 (P<0.0001). A positively elevated correlation (r=0.62, P<0.001) between FDE and SI and VAS scores for each case through evaluation period was revealed. The present study supports a potential benefit of topical herbal medicine against feline head and neck dermatitis.

Keywords

• black cumin
• curcumin
• dermatitis
• feline
• pruritus
• treatment