Aim: This study aimed to determine the preventive and early-stage anticytotoxic effects of Ga–Al–As diode laser photobiomodulation (LPBM) and Epicatechin (green tea extract) (GT), either alone or combined, when used to treat induced oral mucositis (OM) in rats.
Subjects & Methods: Thirty Wistar rats were included; two of them were sacrificed in the beginning (normal mucosa control). Radiotherapy OM was induced a fractionated course of oral radiotherapy at a rate of 2 Gy/min bilaterally twice weekly for two weeks. On day 6, four animals were sacrificed to confirm OM induction. The remaining animals (24 rats) were equally assigned into four groups: Control group (CG), Laser group (LG), green tea extract group (GG) and combined group (L+G). The continued for 5 successive days in the 3-test groups. Animal sacrifice has then occurred on day 11. The mucositis degree (MD) was clinically evaluated, the histopathological assessment of tissue changes was applied using (H&E) and Monoclonal cytochrome-c antibody.
Results: All treated animals showed a statistically significant difference (P-value ≤ 0.05) than those in CG. The lased animals had a better clinical outcome with a faster healing than GT. The best clinical outcome and healing pattern were shown in (L+G).
Conclusion: Ga–Al–As diode laser and Epicatechin produced protection against radiotherapy induced OM through their antioxidant and anti-apoptotic activity effects. Better outcomes were noted in favor of LPBM over GT.