Psoriasis

Bishop's weed

Ammi majus

Methoxsalen (xanthotoxin) from the fruit, taken by mouth or in bath water before controlled doses of long-wave UV-A light (PUVA), is accepted standard therapy for severe, disabling psoriasis that has not responded to other treatment; over 100 clinical studies since 1966. It is also used with UV-A to repigment vitiligo. The crude fruit itself has only small uncontrolled reports.

Tolypocladium

Tolypocladium inflatum

The modified (microemulsion) form is approved for psoriasis in certain patients not helped by other treatments.

Aloe vera

Aloe vera

A small amount of research suggests topical aloe may help psoriasis, lichen planus and genital herpes.

Capillary wormwood

Artemisia capillaris

Only animal work: an extract cream lowered lesion scores in a mouse model of psoriasis-like skin disease, and a topical extract reduced dermatitis scores in sensitised mice.

China root

Smilax china

Quercetin isolated from the rhizome produced orthokeratosis in the mouse-tail psoriasis model and the methanol extract reduced inflammation in rats.

Devil's trumpet

Datura metel

A 2023 meta-analysis of nine Chinese case series and single-arm studies (1778 patients, 1980s onwards) reported pooled cure rates of 48% after intravenous Datura metel extract given under general anaesthesia and 42% after oral extract. There were no controlled trials; selection and publication bias are likely, and adverse effects in one study reached 74.6%.

Fire-flame bush

Woodfordia fruticosa

Flower-extract ointments (0.05% and 0.1%) reduced redness, scaling and skin thickening in a mouse model of psoriasis. Animal data only.

Heartbreak grass

Gelsemium elegans

Used in China for skin diseases including psoriasis and neurodermatitis; koumine reduced epidermal over-growth in mouse models. No human trials.

Indian acalypha

Acalypha indica

A coconut-oil dispersion of the powdered aerial parts reduced psoriasis-like changes in the mouse-tail model. No human studies were found.

Khella

Ammi visnaga

Extracts are popular for vitiligo and psoriasis. The best data are for vitiligo: in a 33-patient pilot study, khellin applied to the skin with UVA light (KUVA) re-pigmented patches about as well as systemic PUVA, though it needed longer treatment, and no side effects were seen.

Oregon grape

Berberis aquifolium

A 2018 systematic review found seven trials of topical Mahonia in psoriasis; five showed statistically significant improvement, with unclear-to-low risk of bias and minimal side effects. Most trials were small and open-label; in one, 63% of 32 patients rated the Mahonia side equal to or better than standard treatment such as calcipotriol (Dovonex).

Pala indigo

Wrightia tinctoria

In Siddha practice, 777 oil is applied to the plaques and the patient then sits in mild sunlight for 2–3 hours a day until relief. Leaf extracts reduced psoriasis-like changes in the mouse-tail test and in imiquimod-induced psoriasis in mice, lowering IL-17 and IL-23. No published controlled clinical trial of 777 oil was found.

Parsley

Petroselinum crispum

In 32 people with psoriasis-like dermatitis, a parsley-extract ointment reduced redness, thickness and scaling, but the control group also improved and the difference was not statistically significant.

Pongam

Millettia pinnata

Karanjin and pongapin, furanoflavones from the seed oil, were studied for psoriasis through their nitric-oxide-scavenging activity in laboratory work. Karanja oil is applied in Ayurvedic treatment of palmoplantar psoriasis, but only as part of multi-drug regimens in case reports; there are no controlled trials.

Thunder god vine

Tripterygium wilfordii

A 2026 network meta-analysis of 43 trials (Chinese and English) found Tripterygium preparations combined with other treatments, notably acitretin, lowered PASI scores (by about 4 points) and raised response rates, but used alone they showed no significant difference; adverse events occurred with combination therapy.

True indigo

Indigofera tinctoria

Topical indigo naturalis ointment helped plaque and nail psoriasis in small randomised trials in Taiwan, but that product comes from Strobilanthes (Baphicacanthus) cusia, Persicaria tinctoria or Isatis indigotica, not from this species. Whether I. tinctoria indigo behaves the same is untested.

Babchi

Cullen corylifolium

Used in Ayurveda, mostly as oral formulations, for vitiligo (leukoderma), psoriasis and leprosy. A 2024 hepatology review found anti-inflammatory and other effects only in preclinical work, with no clinically relevant benefit shown in human trials. Topical seed preparations used with sunlight have caused blistering phototoxic burns, including in a child.

Chinaroot

Smilax glabra

A main ingredient of Yinxieling Gao ointment, used clinically in China for psoriasis.

Indian sarsaparilla

Hemidesmus indicus

Ayurveda uses the root for psoriasis and other skin disease; it is an ingredient of the Siddha oil Sivappu Kukkil Thailam, reported in a single 2025 case of plaque psoriasis that improved, and of a decoction taken for skin infection and psoriasis in Chitrakoot, central India. No controlled trials.

Mexican prickly poppy

Argemone mexicana

Reported in India as used by traditional healers for psoriasis, under the Ayurvedic name swarnkshiri; only cell and mouse studies exist.

Sarsaparilla

Smilax ornata

Robert Willan's scheme for psoriasis (On Cutaneous Diseases, 1808) extended treatment with decoctions of sarsaparilla or dulcamara and antimonial rubs. A 2020 case report described one woman with psoriatic arthritis who took sarsaparilla root (425 mg daily) with turmeric, vitamin D and acupuncture; a single case cannot show benefit.

Sausage tree

Kigelia africana

Listed among fruit uses in Nigeria and West Africa; untested clinically.

Thumbai

Leucas aspera

Leaves are considered useful for psoriasis and other chronic skin eruptions, and whole-plant extracts are used for scabies. Untested.

Wild pansy

Viola tricolor

Italian ethnobotanical surveys record the whole-plant infusion, drunk or applied, for psoriasis. Not tested clinically.