Additional Authors

Mahsa Asgari, DDS 2025 & Vincent Duarte, DDS 2025

Presentation Category

Research

Introduction/Context/Diagnosis

Periodontitis is a severe gum infection that damages the soft tissue and destroys the bone that supports teeth. One of the major etiologic agents of periodontitis is Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. g). If untreated, periodontitis can lead to tooth loss and has been linked to systemic disorders such as heart disease and cancer. Frankincense is a resin obtained from the Boswellia tree and possesses potent anti-inflammatory properties, which have been shown to minimize the symptoms of inflammatory disease, such diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and microbial infections. Boswellia serrata extract was proposed to control the P. g growth in GEC, however the mechanism activated by B. serrata extract is not clear. The objective of this study is to elucidate the antimicrobial mechanism of B. serrata against P. gingivalis in the experimental periodontitis model. To address that, the GECs were infected with P. g and treated with 16 μg/mL of B. serrata extract for 2 hours. The cells were washed and incubated with 300 μg/mL of gentamicin and 200 μg/mL of metronidazole for 1 hour. After 6 hours the nitric oxide (NO) production was measured using Griess reagent and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured with 5μM of H2DCF-DA probe by spectrophotometer and fluorescence microscopy. Our results suggest that B. serrata induced a small amount of nitric oxide and promoted a reactive oxygen burst in the GECs during P. g infection. Our results suggest that the antimicrobial properties of B. serrata involve mainly the promotion of ROS and NO production through the endocytic pathway. Acknowledgements: Dr. Asadi, Dr. Ojcius, Dr. Almeida-da-Silva, Dr. Moreira-Souza. This research is supported by the Dugoni Intramural pilot grant and Biomedical Science Department grant.

Comments/Acknowledgements

Presentation Category: Research

Location

Arthur A Dugoni School of Dentistry, 155 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA

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May 8th, 2:15 PM May 8th, 5:00 PM

The Antimicrobial Mechanisms of Boswellia serrata extract in P. gingivalis Infected Gingival Epithelial Cells

Arthur A Dugoni School of Dentistry, 155 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA

Periodontitis is a severe gum infection that damages the soft tissue and destroys the bone that supports teeth. One of the major etiologic agents of periodontitis is Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. g). If untreated, periodontitis can lead to tooth loss and has been linked to systemic disorders such as heart disease and cancer. Frankincense is a resin obtained from the Boswellia tree and possesses potent anti-inflammatory properties, which have been shown to minimize the symptoms of inflammatory disease, such diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and microbial infections. Boswellia serrata extract was proposed to control the P. g growth in GEC, however the mechanism activated by B. serrata extract is not clear. The objective of this study is to elucidate the antimicrobial mechanism of B. serrata against P. gingivalis in the experimental periodontitis model. To address that, the GECs were infected with P. g and treated with 16 μg/mL of B. serrata extract for 2 hours. The cells were washed and incubated with 300 μg/mL of gentamicin and 200 μg/mL of metronidazole for 1 hour. After 6 hours the nitric oxide (NO) production was measured using Griess reagent and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured with 5μM of H2DCF-DA probe by spectrophotometer and fluorescence microscopy. Our results suggest that B. serrata induced a small amount of nitric oxide and promoted a reactive oxygen burst in the GECs during P. g infection. Our results suggest that the antimicrobial properties of B. serrata involve mainly the promotion of ROS and NO production through the endocytic pathway. Acknowledgements: Dr. Asadi, Dr. Ojcius, Dr. Almeida-da-Silva, Dr. Moreira-Souza. This research is supported by the Dugoni Intramural pilot grant and Biomedical Science Department grant.

 
 

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