Biochemical Efficacy of Cymbopogon Citratus Gel as Local Drug Delivery Agent in Reducing Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 Levels Intra-crevicularly in the Treatment of Stage II Periodontitis: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Phytotherapeutics is widely used nowadays as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) to modulate inflammatory host response and eradicate microbes. Matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) is associated with the onset of inflammation and considered an indicative biomarker to the severity of inflammatory response. Since MMP-8 can be used as a predictive biomarker for treatment response; our research aimed to investigate clinically the effectiveness of intra-pocket application of Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass oil) gel and biochemically on MMP-8 levels in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of stage II periodontitis patients.

Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on forty patients with stage II periodontitis, divided equally into two groups. Group-I (test) was managed by SRP with intra-pocket application of 2% lemongrass oil gel. Group-II (control) was managed by SRP with intra-pocket application of a placebo gel. Periodontal pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were measured for both groups, before treatment and twelve weeks after. Moreover, GCF was collected from both groups at baseline, one week, and twelve weeks after treatment. Then analysed by Enzyme-linked Assay (ELISA) technique.