Black mulberry syrup on reducing tonsillar hypertrophy and its clinical symptoms: A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial

Background: Chronic tonsillitis can lead to various complications in childhood. Various treatment methods, including pharmaceutical treatments, surgery, and complementary medicine, have been used to treat it. Iranian traditional medicine has mentioned the effects of black mulberry on tonsillitis. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the effects of black mulberry syrup on tonsil hypertrophy. Methods: This controlled clinical trial study involved 5- to 15-year-old children referred to Bu-Ali Hospital, Sari. First, 76 patients were allocated equally to the intervention or control groups using randomized blocks of four. In a three-week period, the intervention group received black mulberry syrup, whereas the control group received the placebo. Data analysis was done in SPSS Version 20, using Mann–Whitney U and McNemar tests. Results: The study results revealed significant differences between the intervention and control groups regarding the primary outcomes of the intervention, including the size of the tonsils, oral breathing during sleep, nocturnal snoring, and hypernasal speech (P=0.001). The intervention group showed significant improvement in these symptoms compared to the control group. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that black mulberry syrup effectively alleviated tonsillitis symptoms in the intervention group compared to the control group. In addition, no side effects or drug complications were reported in any study participants.