Efficacy of lycopene in the treatment of gingivitis: A double blind randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Introduction: -Periodontal disease is one of the two most common oral diseases. Antioxidant seems to combat this destructive oral disease. Aim:-To assess the efficacy of lycopene in the treatment of gingivitis. Material & Method: -32 volunteers 20-25 years were chosen after fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A parallel double blind clinical study design with both positive & negative control groups was used. The experimental group was subdivided into lycopene with oral prophylaxis(OP) & lycopene only. Similarly the control group consisted of placebo with OP & placebo subgroups only. Data was collected using plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and bleeding index (BI) at baseline, 1st week, 2nd week and 4th week. Salivary uric acid level of the subjects was also analyzed. Paired and unpaired t test were used to analyze the date. Results: -There was statistically significant reduction in PI, GI & BI scores in all the treatment groups. The OP-lycopene group demonstrated a significant decrease in gingivitis scores as compared to OP-placebo group(p<0.05) & non-OP placebo(p<0.01). Similarly there was significant reduction in gingivitis score in non-OP-lycopene group when compared with non-OPplacebo( p<0.01). There was strong negative correlation between salivary uric acid levels & reduction in gingivitis at 1st , 2nd and 4th weeks in both OP lycopene group(r=-0.841,-0.810 &- 0.772) respectively & in non-OP lycopene group(r=-0.642,-0.571 & -0.421) respectively. Conclusion: -The study findings indicate that use of lycopene in the treatment of gingivitis is quite beneficial, especially along with oral prophylaxis.