title: Pomegranate juice (punica granatum): a new storage medium for avulsed teeth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is evidence indicating that pomegranate juice contains many of the essential properties necessary to retain cell viability and cell proliferation. These properties indicate that pomegranate juice is a suitable storage medium for avulsed teeth. However, this idea has not yet been tested. In this study, the capacity of pomegranate juice (PJ) as a storage medium for retaining avulsed teeth was evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  PDL fibroblasts were obtained from healthy human premolars and cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM). Cultured cells were subjected to different concentrations of pomegranate juice (PJ), 1% Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) and tap water for 1, 3, 6 and 24 hours. PDL cell viability was assessed by the neutral red uptake assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicated that 7.5% PJ was the most effective solution for maintaining PDL cell viability amongst all the experimental solution's and time intervals (P<0.05). The results also showed that 1% PJ was as effective as HBSS for maintaining PDL cell viability. The amount of cell viability increased with increasing concentration of PJ at all time intervals (P<0.001). This effect is suggestive of the proliferative potential of PJ solution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, PJ can be recommended as a suitable transport medium for avulsed teeth.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of pediatric Dentistry, Dental school, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tavassoli-Hojjati
authors.affiliation: Dentist, Department of pediatric Dentistry, Dental school, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aliasghar
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Medicinal Plants Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh Ahmadian
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Babaki
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Medicinal Plants Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Emadi
authors.affiliation: PhD Student, Department of Toxicology & Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maliheh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parsa
authors.affiliation: General Technician, Department of Toxicology & Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shohreh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tavajohi
authors.affiliation: Dentist, Dental Research Center, Research Institute of Dental Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmadyar
authors.affiliation: Proffesor, Department of Toxicology & Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Nasser
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Ostad
keywords: Cell Culture; Neutral Red; Periodontal Ligament; Punica Granatum; Tooth Avulsion