Among the many graft materials that have been used for the treatment of bone defects in oral and maxillofacial regions is xenograft. To improve osteoconductive effects of xenografts, they have been combined with various biocompatible materials, such as hyaluronic acid and bone morphogenetic protein.

Hypericum perforatum is a useful plant because of its biological features, such as bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal effects. Elimination of periodontal pathogens, including Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis, from the oral environment, is important for the stability of periodontal health. Therefore, we aimed to determine the antimicrobial activity of the Hypericum perforatum L. essential oils over these pathogens using cell cultures. The standard and clinical bacterial strains were used in this study. The essential oils extracted from Hypericum perforatum L. flowers were analyzed with gaschromatography/mass spectrometry. The antimicrobial activities of the essential oils along with 0.2 % chlorhexidine, 10 % povidone-iodine, and combinations of essential oils and 0.2 % chlorhexidine, and essential oils and 10 % povidone-iodine were evaluated by measuring the minimum inhibitory concentrations. Essential oils’ minimum inhibitory concentration value for clinical A. actinomycetemcomitans strains was significantly lower than that of the povidone-iodine solution (P<0.05). However, despite the low minimum inhibitory concentration value of essential oils, when compared to 0.2 % chlorhexidine, there was no statistically significant difference between the agents (P=0.113). For clinical strains of Porphyromonas gingivalis, the essential oils showed a lower minimum inhibitory concentration value compared to chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine. The essential oils combined with chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine showed significantly lower minimum inhibitory concentration value for both strains of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (P<0.05). With the lower minimum inhibitory concentration values, the essential oils showed strong antimicrobial activity. Moreover, when combined with chlorhexidine or the povidone-iodine, the antimicrobial effect of essential oils on Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis strains increased synergistically.

Arpağ OF, et al. J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2016 Apr;42(2):115-119. http://dx.doi.org/10.5125/jkaoms.2016.42.2.115

This study aimed to investigate the presence of asprosin hormone in the biological fluids of patients with periodontal inflammation and compare it to those with periodontal healthy. Seventy-five individuals between the ages of 18 to 45, 25 periodontal healthy, 25 with gingivitis, and 25 with periodontitis, were included in the study. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), blood serum and saliva were obtained from individuals in each group. Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and asprosin levels in these fluids were determined using the ELISA. Clinical periodontal measurements were recorded and body mass index was calculated. One-way ANOVA and Bonferroni tests were performed for statistical analysis. Spearman test was used to evaluate correlations. The significance level was determined as p < 0.05. Body mass index values were not different between the groups (p = 0.446). Clinical periodontal measurements were significantly higher in the periodontitis group. Concentrations of TNF-α in GCF, serum and saliva increased significantly in patients with gingivitis and periodontitis (p < 0.001). The higher TNF-α levels were obtained in patients with periodontitis than in individuals with gingivitis (p = 0.001). While asprosin levels were found to be significantly higher in patients with gingivitis and periodontitis (p < 0.001), no significant difference was observed between both groups (p > 0.05). GCF-asprosin levels were positively correlated with the concentrations in serum and saliva in all individuals included in the study (p < 0.05). The periodontal inflammation caused an increase in asprosin hormone in gingival crevicular fluid independently of the type of periodontal disease. This study is registered with number of “NCT06627972” in ClinicalTrials.gov website from the date of October 3, 2024.