The effect of topical piperine combined with narrowband UVB on vitiligo treatment: A clinical trial study.

Vitiligo is the most common acquired hypopigmentary disease in the community. Piperine as an herbal extract derived from black pepper has strong impact on the melanocyte proliferation and adverse side effects less than synthetic drugs such as corticosteroids. For the first time, this study was aimed to evaluate the effect of topical piperine combined with narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) on vitiligo treatment. In this double-blind clinical trial, 63 patients with facial vitiligo were randomly divided into 2 groups: treated with piperine (case) and placebo (control). Also, both groups received NB-UVB phototherapy every other day for 3 months. In the case group, 10 patients have burning sensation on their skin areas (p value = .002). Also, redness of the treated areas was observed in 6 patients (p value = .028). Both side effects were temporary. Regarding repigmentation at time intervals of 1, 2, and 3 months after treatment, its level in the case group was significantly higher than the control group (p value < .001). Based on our findings, the combination therapy with NB-UVB/topical piperine has more influence on facial vitiligo than that of NB-UVB alone. It could be concluded that the simultaneous use of NB-UVB and topical piperine has a remarkable effect on treatment of vitiligo.