Trial reportBMJ open2019
Kanuka honey versus aciclovir for the topical treatment of herpes simplex labialis: a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Randomised controlled trial of mānuka oil-based ECMT-154™ vs. vehicle control for the topical treatment of eczema, conducted in community pharmacies in New Zealand.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Trial
- Extraction, Phytochemical Analysis, and Bioactivity Evaluation of Polyphenols fromAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Geographical Origin Authentication-A Mandatory Step in the Efficient Involvement of Honey in Medical Treatment.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Mānuka oil based ECMT-154 versus vehicle control for the topical treatment of eczema: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial in community pharmacies in Aotearoa New Zealand.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Article
- Review
- A Comprehensive Overview of Epidemiology, Pathogenesis and the Management of Herpes Labialis.Viruses · 2023Review
- Current landscape in antiviral drug development against herpes simplex virus infections.Smart medicine · 2022Review
- Efficacy of a 3% Kānuka oil cream for the treatment of moderate-to-severe eczema: A single blind randomised vehicle-controlled trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2022Article
- General Nutritional Profile of Bee Products and Their Potential Antiviral Properties against Mammalian Viruses.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Honey: An Advanced Antimicrobial and Wound Healing Biomaterial for Tissue Engineering Applications.Pharmaceutics · 2022Review
- Efficacy of Lazolex® Gel in the Treatment of Herpes Simplex Mucocutaneous Infections and the Prevention of Recurrences: A Pilot Study.The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale · 2022Article
- Medical-Grade Honey Outperforms Conventional Treatments for Healing Cold Sores-A Clinical Study.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Monofloral Honeys as a Potential Source of Natural Antioxidants, Minerals and Medicine.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Fighting against the second wave of COVID-19: Can honeybee products help protect against the pandemic?Saudi journal of biological sciences · 2021Review
- Propolis, Bee Honey, and Their Components Protect against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Review of In Silico, In Vitro, and Clinical Studies.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Demanding New Honey Qualitative Standard Based on Antibacterial Activity.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Article
- Current Antivirals and Novel Botanical Molecules Interfering With Herpes Simplex Virus Infection.Frontiers in microbiology · 2020Review
- Possible Potential Effects of Honey and Its Main Components Against Covid-19 Infection.Dose-response : a publication of International Hormesis SocietyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo compare New Zealand medical grade kanuka honey with topical aciclovir for the treatment of herpes simplex labialis.
designProspective parallel randomised controlled open-label superiority trial.
setting76 community pharmacies across New Zealand between 10 September 2015 and 13 December 2017.
participants952 adults randomised within the first 72 hours of a herpes simplex labialis episode.
interventionsRandom assignment 1:1 to either 5% aciclovir cream or medical grade kanuka honey (90%)/glycerine (10%) cream, both applied five times daily. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was time from randomisation to return to normal skin (stage 7). Secondary outcomes included time from randomisation to stage 4 (open wound), time from stage 4 to 7, maximal pain, time to pain resolution and treatment acceptability.
resultsPrimary outcome variable: Kaplan-Meier-based estimates (95% CI) for the median time in days for return to normal skin were 8 (8 to 9) days for aciclovir and 9 (8 to 9) for honey; HR (95% CI) 1.06 (0.92 to 1.22), p=0.56. There were no statistically significant differences between treatments for all secondary outcome variables. No related serious adverse events were reported.
conclusionThere was no evidence of a difference in efficacy between topical medical grade kanuka honey and 5% aciclovir in the pharmacy-based treatment of herpes simplex labialis. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12615000648527;Post-results.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.