Comparison of the efficacy of Hydroquinone cream versus Hydroquinone cream plus Danggui Shaoyao powder in the treatment of melasma

Melasma is an acquired hypermelanosis and occurs in areas exposed to sunlight. To investigate the effectiveness of Danggui Shaoyao powder (DSP) as a complementary drug in the treatment of melasma. A total of 40 melasma patients over the age of 18 who met the inclusion criteria entered the study randomly in two DSP + Hydroquinone (DSP + H) and Hydroquinone (H) groups. At the beginning of the study, the average MASI score of the two groups of patients had no statistical difference (DSP + H: 15.79 ±1.01 vs. H: 15.37 ±1.17, = 0.23). But from the eighth week of treatment, the MASI score of the patients decreased significantly and in the DSP + H group it decreased statistically significantly compared to the H group (DSP + H: 5.83 ±0.97 vs. H: 8.29 ±2.23, < 0.001 for the eighth week and DSP + H: 3.60 ±0.58 vs. H: 5.52 ±1.73, < 0.001 for the twelfth week of the treatment). It means after 12 weeks of treatment, the average MASI score of patients in the DSP + H group decreased by 77.26 ±2.70%, but in the grroup H, it decreased by 64.31 ±9.68% ( < 0.001). Dynamic PGA showed that excellent treatment occurred in 65% of the + H group H, but only 20% of the H group ( = 0.01). Oral DSP for 12 weeks along with hydroquinone cream can significantly reduce the MASI score of melasma patients and increase the patients' recovery and satisfaction.