A comparative study of ranitidine and quince (Cydonia oblonga mill) sauce on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in pregnancy: a randomised, open-label, active-controlled clinical trial

Quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill) is a popular medicinal herb in different traditional medicines. Concentrated quince fruit extract, also known as quince sauce (QS), is traditionally used for the treatment of a variety of gastrointestinal disorders. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of QS versus ranitidine on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in pregnant women. We compared the efficacy of 4 weeks of ranitidine (150 mg, twice daily) with the efficacy of QS (10 mg, after meals) on 137 pregnant women with GERD. Their General Symptom Score (GSS) and Major Symptom Score (MSS) were compared at the baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after intervention. After 2 weeks of the study, the mean GSS score of the QS group was significantly lower compared with the ranitidine group (p = .036). Although, the GSS value at the end of the study had no difference between groups (p = .074). However, the MSS of the different symptoms of the two groups at 2 weeks and 4 weeks had no significant differences. It seems that the efficacy of QS for the management of pregnancy-related GERD is similar to ranitidine.