Leprosy

7 remedies

See a doctor if

Leprosy is cured with free multidrug therapy from the WHO. Numb skin patches need a clinician.

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.

Limited evidence

Small or few trials, mixed results, or mainly lab and animal work.

Chaulmoogra

Hydnocarpus pentandrus

Limited

Leprosy (Hansen's disease). Chaulmoogra oil and, from 1915, its ethyl esters were the standard treatment for about two decades; Ball's esters led to patients testing negative for the bacillus and the first releases from isolation in Hawaii. It was never tested in controlled trials and was replaced by dapsone from 1946 and multidrug therapy from 1982. Its cyclopentenyl fatty acids are thought to act on the mycobacterial cell wall.

Traditional use

Long recorded use, essentially untested in clinical trials.

Abalo

Brucea antidysenterica

Traditional

Leaf-powder paste is applied for leprosy, and twigs and leaves prepared with butter, or ripe fruit with honey, are used for leprosy and scrofula in Ethiopia. Not tested clinically.