RESUMO
PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of andiroba oil on the periodontitis in rats. METHODS: The periodontitis was induced by the placement of cotton ligatures around the cervix of the second upper molars on fifteen rats, and waiting fifty days. The animals were randomly distributed into three groups: saline group, andiroba oil group and meloxican group, differentiated by substance used in the treatment of periodontitis. The groups received the respective substance by gavage for seven days, after the periodontitis induced. It was analyzed the score of inflammatory cells and the measurement from the cemento-enamel junction to the bone crest. RESULTS: The andiroba oil group (p=0.008) and meloxican group (p=0.0347) show a less score of inflammatory cells than saline group, however there weren't difference between them (p=0.2754). Regarding the analysis of measurement from the cemento-enamel junction to the bone crest, there was no difference between groups studied (p=0.3451). CONCLUSION: Andiroba oil decreased the quantity of inflammatory cells, however, it didn't have an effect on the measurement of alveolar bone loss, like the treatment with Meloxican®.