COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF CLINICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL EFFICACY OF 2% LEMONGRASS GEL VERSUS 1%CHLORHEXIDINE GEL AS A LOCAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM IN THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL.

Background: research has revealed various medicinal plants offering new choice of antimicrobial therapy. Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) is a popular medicinal plant, at concentration of ≤ 2%; it inhibits several microorganisms including periodontal pathogens. Aim: to compare and evaluate, clinically and microbiologically, the efficacy of 2% lemongrass gel versus 1% chlorhexidine gel as a local drug delivery agent in patients with chronic periodontitis after mechanical periodontal therapy. Materials and methods: 45 systemically healthy patients with chronic periodontitis were included in the study. All the patients underwent scaling and root planing (SRP), patients were recalled after 1 month.Those having persistent probing pocket depth ≥ 5mm were selected for the study and were equally divided into 3 groups of 15 patients each. Group I received lemongrass gel, group II received chlorhexidine (CHX) gel and group III received placebo gel as a local drug delivery agent. Clinical parameters like gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI) and probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL) were evaluated at baseline and 3 months follow-up. Microbial analysis was done by using subgingival plaque samples before and after treatment. Results: when lemongrass results compared with chx gel, the results were statistically insignificant (p>0.05) and when compared with placebo result where significant. Conclusion: the LDD containing 2% lemongrass gel can be effectively used in the treatment of chronic periodontal pockets and is as effective as CHX gel in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.