BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a traditional Chinese medicine, Bu-Shen-Gu-Chi-Wan, on experimental periodontitis and bone regeneration in rat.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Sixty female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided equally into three groups: a healthy control group (Group N); a periodontitis group (Group P); and the Bu-Shen-Gu-Chi-Wan treatment group (Group T). A 0.2-mm wire was placed around the maxillary first molar and Porphyromonas gingivalis was injected into the gingival sulcus. Rats in different groups were administered 0.9% normal saline or Bu-Shen-Gu-Chi-Wan solution (4 g/kg of body weight, for three alternate days), and the animals were killed after 4 wk. Morphological analysis of alveolar bone rebuilding was performed using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and stereomicroscopy, and the variation of inflammation in the periodontium was determined histologically. The serum levels of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and of the bone-turnover biomarkers pyridinoline cross-linked carboxyterminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) and osteocalcin (OC) were determined using radioimmunoassays.

RESULTS

After treatment with Bu-Shen-Gu-Chi-Wan, there were significant decreases in the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, ICTP and OC and decreased inflammatory infiltration in the periodontal tissues of Group T. significant changes in alveolar bone volume and density were detected by micro-CT, but stereomicroscopy did not detect a significant improvement of alveolar bone height.

CONCLUSION

The data of the present study suggest that the traditional Chinese medicine, Bu-Shen-Gu-Chi-Wan, has anti-inflammatory function in experimental periodontitis and may simultaneously improve alveolar bone remodeling.