Assessment of salivary and serum antioxidant status in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis

ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the possible association of oxidant/antioxidant status and recurrentaphthous stomatitis (RAS).Study design: The study consis ted of thirty-one patients with RAS and thirty-two healthy controls from whom salivaand blood samples were collected. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) and catalase(CAT) were measured in erythrocytes and total antioxidant status (TAS) was measured in plasma and saliva.Results: Erythrocyte SOD activity was significantly lower in RAS patients in comparison to healthy controls(P=0.012). No significant differences were found in erythrocyte GSHPx, CAT activities, and salivary and plasmaTAS between RAS patients and control subjects (p>0.1).Conclusion: Changes in SOD activity may be important in the inflammatory reactions observed in RAS, but othertested defense systems such as CAT and GSHPx do not seem to play a primary role in the aetiopathogenesis ofRAS. Moreover, the antioxidant system in saliva and plasma is not as affected as in erythrocytes in RAS patients,and therefore it may not be considered an appropriate indicator of the body’s total antioxidant status (AU)