title: Efficacy of lycopene in the treatment of gingivitis: a randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of systemically administered lycopene (LycoRed) as a monotherapy and as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in gingivitis patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty systemically healthy patients showing clinical signs of gingivitis were involved in a randomised, double-blind, parallel, split-mouth study. The subjects were randomly distributed between the two treatment groups: experimental group (n = 10), 8 mg lycopene/day for 2 weeks; and controls (n = 10), placebo for 2 weeks. Quadrant allocation within each group was randomised with two quadrants treated with oral prophylaxis (OP) and two quadrants not receiving any form of treatment (non-OP). Bleeding index (SBI) and non-invasive measures of plaque (PI) and gingivitis (GI) were assessed at baseline, 1 and 2 weeks. Salivary uric acid levels were also measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the treatment groups demonstrated statistically significant reductions in the GI, SBI and PI. Treatment with OP-lycopene resulted in a statistically significant decrease in GI when compared with OP-placebo (p < 0.05) and non-OP-placebo (p < 0.01). Treatment with non-OP-lycopene resulted in a statistically significant decrease in GI when compared with non-OP-placebo (p < 0.01). The OP-lycopene group showed a statistically significant reduction in SBI values when compared with the non-OP-lycopene group (p < 0.05) and the non-OP-placebo group (p < 0.001). There was a strong negative correlation between the salivary uric acid levels and the percentage reduction in GI at 1 and 2 weeks in the OP-lycopene group (r = -0.852 and -0.802 respectively) and in the non-OP-lycopene group (r = -0.640 and -0.580 respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results presented in this study suggest that lycopene shows great promise as a treatment modality in gingivitis. The possibility of obtaining an additive effect by combining routine oral prophylaxis with lycopene is also an exciting possibility, which deserves further study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics, Krishnadevaraya College of Dental Sciences, Hunasamaranahalli, Yelahanka, Bangalore, India. viswachandra@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Rampalli Viswa
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Chandra
authors.forename: M L Venkatesh
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Prabhuji
authors.forename: D Adinarayana
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Roopa
authors.forename: Sandhya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ravirajan
authors.forename: Hadal C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kishore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D012534:Dental Scaling; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077276:Lycopene; D008297:Male; D010512:Periodontal Index; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D014527:Uric Acid; D002338:Carotenoids; D000077276:Lycopene