The effect of curcumin 1% methanolic extract on the expression of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1, Matrix Metalloproteinase-8, Matrix Metalloproteinase-13, neutrophil, macrophage, lymphocyte counts in Porphyromonas gingivalis induced periodontitis: a randomized controlled trial

Objective

Hailed as one of the most fundamental and important treatment in management of periodontal disease, scalling and root planning has limitations regarding microorganism elimination. Meanwhile, turmeric has been proven to have a therapeutic effect on gingivitis and periodontitis. This study aimed to analyze the impact of curcumin 1% methanolic extract on the expression of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1, Matrix Metalloproteinase-8, Matrix Metalloproteinase -13, neutrophil, macrophage, and lymphocyte number in the gingiva of Wistar rats exposed to Porphyromonas gingivalis bacteria (P. gingivalis).

Materials and methods

The experimental animals used were Wistar rats, arbitrarilly split up into three experimental groups namely: normal, control (induced with periodontitis, received no treatment), and treatment (Periodontitis with 1% curcumin treatment). The samples were taken from the gingival tissue of the mandibular incisors on 1 and 7 days. Immunohistochemical and Hematoxylin Eosin staining were performed to measure the expression of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1, Matrix Metalloproteinase-8, Matrix Metalloproteinase-13, and the number of neutrophils, macrophages, and lymphocytes. Data were analyzed for mean standard deviation. The Oneway ANOVA was then performed to see whether there is a significant difference between experimental groups, the test then commenced with Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference test with a significance level (α=0.05).

Results

MMP-8, MMP-13, neutrophil, and lymphocyte numbers in the treatment groups were significantly lower with P<0.05 than in the control groups in the 1 and 7 days. Meanwhile, in MMP-1 and macrophage numbers the difference was deemed not significant when control and treatment groups are compared.

Conclusion

The administration of 1% curcumin can significantly reduce the expression of MMP-8, MMP-13, neutrophil and lymphocyte cell numbers, but there is no reducing the number of macrophage cells and MMP-1 expression in gingiva of Wistar rats exposed to P. gingivalis bacteria.