Comparative in vitro study of the effectiveness of Green tea extract and common storage media on periodontal ligament fibroblast viability

OBJECTIVE: Green tea extract (GTE) was shown to be effective in preserving periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLFs) of avulsed teeth. This study aimed at determining the potential of GTE in preserving the viability of PDLFs comparing with different storage media. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Periodontal ligament cells were obtained from freshly extracted healthy impacted third molars and cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM). Cell viability was determined by storing the cells in seven media; DMEM, tap water, Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS), whole milk, hypotonic sucrose solution, GTE, and GTE + sucrose for 1, 2, 4, and 24 h at 37°C using tetrazolium salt-based colorimetric (3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way analysis of variance and post hoc tests. RESULTS: GTE showed significantly higher protective effect than HBSS at 2, 4, and 24 h (P = 0.009, P = 0.02, P = 0.016), DMED at 2 h (P = 0.003), and milk at 4 h (P = 0.039). CONCLUSION: Although with undesirable osmolality and pH, GTE had a good ability in preserving the PDLFs comparing with other studied media.