A comparative study of the therapeutic effects of the Zataria multiflora vaginal cream and metronidazole vaginal gel on bacterial vaginosis.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of most prevalent complications among reproductive-aged women. Metromidazole prescription, which is considered as the first-line treatment of BV, is usually followed by a few side effects. Besides, there is a growing tendency toward herbal medicines for the treatment of vaginitis. Antibacterial and antifungal effects of Zataria multiflora (Z. multiflora) have been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. This study aimed to compare the therapeutic effects of the Z. multiflora vaginal cream and metronidazole vaginal gel on bacterial vaginosis. This was a randomized clinical trial on 90 married women aged 18-40 affected by BV who attended for treatment to the gynecology clinic of Shabih-Khani Hospital. They randomly divided to two groups of 45 participants. Diagnostic criteria were Amsel's criteria and Gram stain. Z. multiflora vaginal cream or metronidazole vaginal gel for five-night usage were prescribed to each group, and after 2-7 days therapeutic effects on participants' complications and their Amsel criteria were assessed. Data analysis was performed by McNemar and Fisher exact tests. Patients' complication and their Amsel's criteria were significantly decreased after treatment with Z. multiflora or metronidazole (p<0.05). Relative risk for unresponsiveness to treatment with Z. multiflora, to unresponsiveness to metronidazole was 1.5, which was not significant. Therapeutic effects of Z. multiflora vaginal cream are similar to metronidazole vaginal gel on BV. Therefore it could be an appropriate choice to BV treatment for those interested in herbal medicines or those affected by side effects of metronidazole.