Evaluation of salivary oxidative stress in oral lichen planus using malonaldehyde

BACKGROUND: Oral lichen planus is a chronic, mucocutaneous, inflammatory disease, with an unknown etiology. Reactive oxygen species and oxidative damage to the tissues might be the cause. Malonaldehyde (MDA), a low molecular weight end product of lipid peroxidation reaction is a suitable biomarker of endogenous DNA damage. monitoring the oxidant-antioxidant status of saliva may serve as an efficient marker of disease development in oral lichen planus patients. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate salivary oxidative stress in oral lichen planus subject using MDA and compare it with control subjects. Furthermore, to compare MDA levels in erosive and hypertrophic lichen planus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current study is case–control study. Unstimulated salivary samples in the morning hours were taken from oral lichen planus subjects (n = 25) and controls subjects without any oral disease (n = 25). The saliva was centrifuged at 900 g for 10 min at a temperature of 4°C. Then, the entire filtrate was transferred to Eppendorf test tubes and frozen at–80°C until analysis. Salivary MDA was done through thiobarbituric acid reactive substance assay as per the protocol laid down by the manufacturer (Sigma Aldrich Lipid Peroxidation Assay Kit). RESULTS: The data were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation and the statistical analysis was done using Student's t-test using SPSS version 21 IBM software. The salivary level of MDA was significantly higher than that of controls (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The higher level of MDA in patients with oral lichen planus suggests that free radicals and the resulting oxidative damage may be important in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus lesions.