A study published last year(2025) in British Dental Journal states that oral lycopene supplementation used as an adjunct to nonsurgical periodontal therapy showed better clinical outcome compared to placebo group in the study.
What Is Oral Lycopene?
Lycopene is a carotenoid commonly found in red vegetables like tomato. Lycopene is known for its powerful antioxidant properties.Epidemiological studies have shown reduced risk of oxidative stress-related diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders, asthma, arthritis, and hepatitis with dietary lycopene supplementation.
Periodontal Disease And Oxidative Stress
Periodontal diseases is multifactorial condition which involves inflammatory and immunological responses leading to dysregulation of the host defense mechanism towards perio-pathogenic bacteria. This dysregulation results in a condition called oxidative stress, which can lead to functional and structural changes in periodontal tissues and can result in progression of periodontal tissue destruction.
Individuals with inflammatory conditions exhibit lower serum lycopene (sLyco) levels than healthy individuals.
Systemic lycopene supplementation as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal therapy led to significant clinical improvements in periodontal parameters like Clinical Attachment Loss and Probing Pocket Depth, suggesting oral lycopene supplements may be a valuable addition to periodontal treatment protocols, but further research with larger sample size has to be done to i validate its long-term benefits.
Original Article: The effect of systemic lycopene supplementation on non-surgical periodontal therapy outcomes: A clinical trial - PMC
MBH/PS