ABSTRACT
Recurrent aphthous stomatitis [RAS] is a common oral mucosal disorder characterized by recurrent and painful oral aphtous ulcers. Although the exact cause of RAS is not known, but local trauma, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal changes, genetics, and immunologic factors have been suggested to contribute to its pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to assess the serum level of vitamin E in patients with RAU and normal subjects. This case-control study was conducted on19 patients with RAU and 17 healthy controls with same age and sex. Serum level of vitamin E was measured in both groups by liquid chromatography technique. Data were analyzed by Mann-u-Whitney test. The mean serum level of vitamin E was 14.89 +/- 2.3 micro g/ml in RAU patients and 22. 53 +/- 3.7 micro g/ml in normal group. This level was significantly lower in patients with RAU than in healthy control subjects [p<0.05]. The present study demonstrated that serum level of vitamin E significantly decreased in patients with aphtous ulceration