English abstract
Objectives: We sought to investigate the healing efficacy of thermosensitive in situ gelling
formulation containing metronidazole and diclofenac potassium on ligature-induced
periodontitis (LIP) in rats. Methods: We used 30 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats; 24
rats were subjected to LIP, while the remaining six rats were used as control. The 24
rats with LIP were subdivided into four groups of six rats each. Group 1 received 5%
metronidazole loaded gel, group 2 received 0.2% diclofenac potassium loaded gel, group
3 received 5% metronidazole and 0.2% diclofenac potassium, and group 4 (the control
group) did not receive any treatment. Treatment was administered on day 0, and the rats
were monitored over seven days. Specimens were collected for histological examination
to assess the healing process. Results: We found a statistically significant difference
(p < 0.050) in the inflammatory and repair parameters of the healing process between
different treatments. Combining the two drugs significantly accelerated the healing
compared to the drugs given alone. Conclusions: Using a combination of diclofenac
and metronidazole could potentially accelerate the healing process compared to the use
of a single drug of either diclofenac or metronidazole.
