title: Does stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) have an effect on bone formation in the expanded inter-premaxillary suture?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether systemically given stinging nettle (SN) has an effect on bone formation in response to expansion of the rat inter-premaxillary suture.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 28 male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into 4 equal groups: control (C), only expansion (OE), SN extract given only during the expansion and retention periods (SN group; a total of 17days), and SN extract given during the nursery phase before expansion (a period of 40days) and during the expansion and retention periods (N+SN group; a total of 57days). After the 5-day expansion period was completed, the rats in the OE, SN, and N+SN groups underwent 12days of mechanical retention, after which they were sacrificed, and their premaxilla were dissected and fixed. A histologic evaluation was done to determine the number of osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and capillaries, as well as the number and intensity of inflammatory cells and new bone formation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statistically significant differences were found between the groups in all histologic parameters except the ratio of intensities of inflammatory cells. New bone formation and the number of capillaries were significantly higher in the SN groups than in the other groups. The statistical analysis also showed that the numbers of osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and capillaries were highest in the N+SN group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Systemic administration of SN may be effective in accelerating new bone formation and reducing inflammation in the maxillary expansion procedure. It may also be beneficial in preventing relapse after the expansion procedure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu 14030, Turkey. Electronic address: cirgin@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Celal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Irgin
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu 14030, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bayram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Çörekçi
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ozan
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu 14030, Turkey.
authors.forename: Koray
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Halicioğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Orçun
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Toptaş
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Science, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arzu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Birinci Yildirim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Science, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arzu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Türker
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fahri
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001861:Bone Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects; D002196:Capillaries / Q000187:drug effects; D003393:Cranial Sutures / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009969:Orthodontic Wires; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D010010:Osteoclasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D010155:Palatal Expansion Technique; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D026982:Urtica dioica / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts