Salivary Interleukin-1β Levels in Chronic Periodontitis Patients after use of Nigella sativa (Kalonji) Oil -

Objective: Periodontitis is the second most prevalent microbiome associated inflammatory disease posing a threat to oral health. Nigella sativa (Kalonji) has long been used for the treatment of oral inflammatory conditions. Interleukin 1β (IL-1β) has been found to be critical for periodontal inflammation, collagen degradation and bone turn over. The purpose of our study was to determine the change in the levels of salivary IL-1β after the use of Nigella sativa oil so as to determine if it has any correlation with salivary IL-1β. Methodology: A parallel-arm triple blind placebo-based randomized control trial (Trial Reg. No. NCT03270280) was conducted on a total of 93 patients. Out of these, fifty individuals with chronic periodontitis were enrolled in the study as per the eligibility criteria. Baseline screening of the participants was done via clinical periodontal parameters such as periodontal pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), plaque index (PI) and bleeding on probing (BoP). These individuals were categorized into two groups; 1. Control Group (n=25), which was given normal saline as placebo; 2. Treatment Group, which was given Nigella sativa oil (n=25). All participants underwent scaling and root planing before the start of the trial. The intervention was given for a duration of two weeks. Salivary samples were taken at day 0 and day 15 and were evaluated for interleukin 1β levels using ELISA. Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS (version 25.0, SPSS Inc.) on forty participants due to loss to follow up. Results: Levels of salivary interleukin 1β came out to be statistically insignificant (p=0.09) after two week use of Nigella sativa oil. Conclusion No correlation was found between the salivary IL-1β and the use of Nigella sativa oil in patients with chronic periodontitis as compared to the patients using normal saline.