The Moringa Oleifera Extract Topical Preparations And Pycnogenol Gel As Adjuvant Synergic Treatment For Skin Recovery Structure Of Diagnosed (Baghdad Boil) Cutaneous Leishmanial (CL) Face Ulcer.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis — known colloquially as 'Baghdad boil' — is a parasitic skin infection that causes open, crater-like ulcers on the face, often leaving behind darkened, disfiguring scars. Researchers in this study tested whether topical preparations made from Moringa oleifera extract, combined with a 5% pycnogenol gel, could help these ulcers heal faster and reduce scarring when used alongside the standard antiparasitic drug sodium stibogluconate. Twenty-four patients with confirmed facial ulcers were divided into three groups of eight, each receiving moringa in a different formulation — gel, lotion, or cream — applied to the ulcer margins, while pycnogenol gel was applied to the ulcer centre every 12 hours for up to eight weeks. The gel-based moringa formulation produced the most encouraging results: ulcers in that group were the smallest by week four and had dropped from a grade 2 to a grade 1 severity rating on a standardised wound-scoring index called the Capillaroscopic Skin Ulcer Risk Index (CSURI). The lotion group showed no measurable reduction in ulcer width at week four, and some patients in that group still had grade 1 to 2 ulcers at the eight-week follow-up. The cream group showed some reduction but only from week four onward, remaining at grade 2. No adverse skin reactions were reported across any group. The findings suggest that the formulation type matters — gel appears to deliver moringa's bioactive compounds more effectively to the wound site than lotion or cream in this context.