Efficacy of lycopene in the treatment of gingivitis: a randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
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.
Chandra
Rampalli Viswa
RV
Department of Periodontics, Krishnadevaraya College of Dental Sciences, Hunasamaranahalli, Yelahanka, Bangalore, India. viswachandra@hotmail.com
Prabhuji
M L Venkatesh
ML
Roopa
D Adinarayana
DA
Ravirajan
Sandhya
S
Kishore
Hadal C
HC
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
D000975:Antioxidants; D014527:Uric Acid; D002338:Carotenoids; D000077276:Lycopene