Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone perhaps most well known for its role in regulating the body’s cycles of sleeping and waking. Now research suggests it may be useful in fighting periodontal (gum) diseases. Those with more antioxidants in the blood and saliva tend to have less gum disease.
At the University of Grenada in Grenada, Spain, researchers set out to explore possible links between melatonin levels in saliva and the severity of periodontal disease.
Their premise was that melatonin "possesses antioxidant, free-radical scavenging, and immuno-enhancing properties that promote fibroblast activity and bone regeneration."
In the study, researchers examined melatonin levels in the saliva of 37 people with varying degrees of periodontal disease. The more severe the periodontal disease, the lower the melatonin level, the researchers found.
Melatonin may help protect the body from "external bacterial insults," they concluded. "Therefore, melatonin may be potentially valuable in the treatment of periodontal diseases, although further research is required to validate this hypothesis."
In a separate study from the University of Birmingham, UK researchers who looked at more than 11,000 adults found an association between increased antioxidant concentrations in the blood and reduced relative risk of periodontitis. The higher the concentrations of vitamin C, bilirubin and total antioxidants, the lower the risk of periodontitis: one type of periodontal disease.
"Periodontitis is the major cause of tooth loss and is also significantly associated with an increased risk of stroke, type-2 diabetes and atheromatous heart disease," the researchers warn.
Sources: J Periodontol. 2006 Sep;77(9):1533-8; J Nutr. 2007 Mar;137(3): 657-64
