Trial reportBMC complementary and alternative medicine2017
Clinical efficacy and IL-17 targeting mechanism of Indigo naturalis as a topical agent in moderate psoriasis.
Trial report in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Study of Topical Indigo Naturalis Treatment in Patients With Mild to Moderate Plaque-type Psoriasis
Comparison of the Efficacy and Safety of Lindioil (Indigo Naturalis Oil Extract) Ointment to Protopic® (Tacrolimus 0.1%) Ointment in Treating Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomized, Evaluator-blind, Crossover, Active-Controlled Trial
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A Comprehensive Systematic Review of Natural Biomedicines for Immune-Mediated and Inflammatory Dermatologic Diseases.Clinical drug investigation · 2025Pooled it
- Pharmacokinetics and Acute Safety Evaluation of Tryptanthrin, A Bioactive Constituent of Indigo naturalis, Following Intravenous Administration in Mice.Journal of applied toxicology : JAT · 2026Article
- Chemistry and Biological Activity of 11Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Phytochemical-Based Strategies for Lung Cancer: Clinical Insights Into Pleiotropic Molecular Signaling and Therapeutic Roles.Phytotherapy research : PTR · 2026Review
- Brevilin A inhibits IL‑17A‑induced inflammation in psoriasis by modulating HSP 70.Molecular medicine reports · 2025Article
- Efficacy and safety of indigo naturalis oil extract (Lindioil ointment) for the treatment of atopic dermatitis: a randomized, crossover, evaluator-blinded, controlled trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Chromosome-level genome assembly of the tetraploid medicinal and natural dye plant Persicaria tinctoria.Scientific data · 2024Article
- Evidence and potential mechanism of action of indigo naturalis and its active components in the treatment of psoriasis.Annals of medicine · 2024Review
- Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Natural Compounds in Psoriasis and Their Inclusion in Nanotechnological Systems.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Psoriasis Patients with Specific HLA-Cw Alleles and Lower Plasma IL-17 Level Show Improved Response to Topical Lindioil Treatment.Pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine · 2022Article
- A Comprehensive Review of the Chemistry, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacology, Clinical Applications, Adverse Events, and Quality Control of Indigo Naturalis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Review
- From natural dye to herbal medicine: a systematic review of chemical constituents, pharmacological effects and clinical applications of indigo naturalis.Chinese medicine · 2020Review
- Design, synthesis and biomedical evaluation of mostotrin, a new water soluble tryptanthrin derivative.International journal of molecular medicine · 2020Article
- IL-17A inhibitions of indole alkaloids from traditional Chinese medicine Qing Dai.Journal of ethnopharmacology · 2020Article
- Tryptanthrin promotes keratinocyte and fibroblast responses in vitro after infection with Trichophyton benhamiae DSM6916.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Pre-clinical evidences for the efficacy of tryptanthrin as a potent suppressor of skin cancer.Cell proliferation · 2020Article
- Selection of reference genes for the quantitative real-time PCR normalization of gene expression in Isatis indigotica fortune.BMC molecular biology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIndigo naturalis is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) ingredient long-recognized as a therapy for several inflammatory conditions, including psoriasis. However, its mechanism is unknown due to lack of knowledge about the responsible chemical entity. We took a different approach to this challenge by investigating the molecular profile of Indigo naturalis treatment and impacted pathways.
methodsA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study was conducted using Indigo naturalis as topical monotherapy to treat moderate plaque psoriasis in a Chinese cohort (n = 24). Patients were treated with Indigo naturalis ointment (n = 16) or matched placebo (n = 8) twice daily for 8 weeks, with 1 week of follow-up.
resultsAt week 8, significant improvements in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores from baseline were observed in Indigo naturalis-treated patients (56.3% had 75% improvement [PASI 75] response) compared with placebo (0.0%). A gene expression signature of moderate psoriasis was established from baseline skin biopsies, which included the up-regulation of the interleukin (IL)-17 pathway as a key component; Indigo naturalis treatment resulted in most of these signature genes returning toward normal, including down-regulation of the IL-17 pathway. Using an in vitro keratinocyte assay, an IL-17-inhibitory effect was observed for tryptanthrin, a component of Indigo naturalis.
conclusionsThis study demonstrated the clinical efficacy of Indigo naturalis in moderate psoriasis, and exemplified a novel experimental medicine approach to understand TCM targeting mechanisms.
trial registrationNCT01901705 .
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.