ASSESSING THE EFFICIENCY OF SYSTEMICALLY ADMINISTERED LYCOPENE IN THE TREATMENT OF GINGIVITIS ? A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL

Oxygen is an element indispensible for life, can under certain situation have deleterious effect on the human body. Harmful effect of oxygen is due to the formation of a number of compounds known as reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species have a role in pathogenesis of periodontal disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of systemically administered lycopene as a monotherapy and as an adjunct to scaling in gingivitis patients. The study also attempts to evaluate the level of uric acid in saliva before and after lycopene administration .30 patients reporting to the Department of Periodontics KLE‘S VK Institute of Dental Science were included in the randomized controlled clinical trial. All the subjects were given 8 mg of lyco red tablets daily in two equally divided doses for two weeks. Plaque and gingival index were recorded at baseline, 1st and 2nd week. There was a statistically significant reduction in the mean gingival and plaque index scores from Baseline to 1st and 2nd week for the test and control site. There was a statistically significant increase in mean salivary uric acid level following lycopene administration. Lycopene shows great promise as a treatment modality in gingivitis patients. The possibility of obtaining an additive effect by combining oral prophylaxis with lycopene is also a possibility which deserves further study.