Onion Poultice for Anti-Inflammatory

Research suggests that onion and onion-derived compounds possess anti-inflammatory properties supported primarily by laboratory and animal studies, with a 2024 review identifying over 400 bioactive compounds — including flavonoids and phenolic acids — that may underlie these effects. A 2019 systematic review of integrative medicine approaches in plastic surgery found reproducible evidence supporting onion extract specifically for improving scar appearance, which relates to its proposed anti-inflammatory and tissue-modulating activity. Both reviews are generally supportive in direction, though neither represents direct clinical trial evidence for onion poultice as a topical anti-inflammatory intervention, and the available research base consists largely of narrative and systematic reviews rather than randomized controlled trials. Authors across both studies consistently note that rigorous human clinical trials are lacking, and that more robust evidence is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn about onion's therapeutic applications in humans.