Indigo naturalis (Qing Dai), a dark blue plant-based powder used in Traditional Chinese medicine appears effective in the treatment of psoriasis, according to a recent study published in the Archives of Dermatology.

Psoriasis is a noncontagious skin disease and its most common form is plaque psoriasis. This form of psoriasis is characterized by raised, inflamed red lesions covered by silvery white scales.

In the study, 42 people with plaque psoriasis used an ointment containing indigo naturalis on one lesion and an ointment containing no indigo naturalis on a different lesion for 12 weeks.

On average, plaque psoriasis lesions treated with indigo naturalis improved by 81%, compared with only 26% for those lesions treated with the other ointment. 74% of those who completed the study saw their treated lesion completely disappear, and none found that the indigo naturalis worsened their condition.

Link to original article on Insider Medicine