To-date, emerging bacterial resistance to the commonly prescribed antibiotics in the management of periodontitis has become a challenging problem making scientists continually seek for new agents. In the present study, propolis (PRO) (natural bee glue) and moxifloxacin (MXF) (new quinolone antibiotic) were evaluated in the treatment of severe generalized periodontitis (gP) as adjuncts to scaling and root planing (SRP). Fifty four subjects with severe gP were randomly assigned into three groups (3 subjects did not complete the study after participation). Group I in which SRP alone was performed to gP patients (SRP group; n=17); group II in which SRP was done to gP patients combined with orally administered propolis 400 mg once daily for 7 days (PRO group; n=16); and group III in which SRP was performed to gP patients combined with oral moxifloxacin 400 mg once daily for 7 days (MXF group; n=18). Pocket depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), bleeding on probing (BOP), plaque (PI) and gingival (GI) indices were recorded at baseline, after 6 and 12 weeks of SRP. Salivary interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) was evaluated at the same time points for all groups. All three procedures led to significant reductions in PD, CAL, BOP, PI and GI after 6 and 12 weeks. PD reduction and CAL gain were significantly greater in the PRO and MXF groups compared to SRP group at 6 and 12 weeks after therapy (p < 0.01). Importantly, there was no significant variation between PRO group and MXF group after treatment (p > 0.05). Likewise, in PRO and MXF groups, the salivary inflammatory marker (IL-1β) was significantly reduced in comparison to SRP group (p < 0.01). In all groups, salivary IL-1β levels were decreased at 6 and 12 weeks compared to baseline values. It was concluded that the adjunctive use of PRO and MXF to SRP had significantly improved the treatment outcomes in subjects with severe gP comparable to SRP alone. Thus, PRO and MXF showed promising results in the treatment of periodontal disease.
KEYWORDS Propolis, Moxifloxacin, Adjunctive treatment, Periodontitis.