Effectiveness of Local Use of Green Propolis-Loaded Lipid Nanoparticles as Adjuvant Therapy to Scaling and Root Planing in the Management of Periodontitis in Rats Treated with Zoledronate

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of the local use of green propolis-loaded lipid nanoparticles (GPlnp) as an adjuvant therapy to scaling and root planing (SRP) to manage experimental periodontitis (EP) in ovariectomized rats treated with zoledronate. Ten weeks before the experiment, 48 female rats were ovariectomized. On day 0, a ligature was installed in the lower first molar to induce EP. From day 0 to day 42, half of the rats were treated with vehicle (VEH), while the other half were treated with 100μg/Kg of zoledronate (ZOL). On day 14, the rats were allocated into the following groups: VEH-NLT, VEH-SRP, VEH-SRP-GPlnp, ZOL-NLT, ZOL-SRP, and ZOL-SRP-GPlnp. VEH-NLT and ZOL-NLT received no local treatment. VEH-SRP and ZOL-SRP received SRP and irrigation with physiological saline solution. VEH-SRP-GPlnp and ZOL-SRP-GPlnp received SRP and irrigation with GPlnp. A single SRP session was carried out, and four irrigation sessions were conducted (on days 14, 16, 18, and 20). On day 42, all animals were euthanized. The hemimandibles were processed for histological, histometric (percentage of total bone tissue (PTBT) and non-vital bone tissue (PNVBT)) and immunohistochemical (TNFα, IL-1β, and TRAP) analysis. VEH-SRP-GPlnp showed better tissue repair, higher PTBT, and lower immunolabeling for TNFα and IL-1β compared to the groups treated with VEH. ZOL-SRP-GPlnp showed a favorable tissue repair, with lower PNVBT, less local inflammation, and lower immunolabeling for TNFα and IL-1β compared to the groups treated with ZOL. Irrigation with GPlnp proved to be effective as an adjuvant therapy to SRP in treating EP in ovariectomized rats treated with zoledronate.