exploring therapeutic potential of luteolin in periodontal therapy: a scoping review

Periodontal disease is a destructive inflammatory process of the tooth-supporting tissues, that frequently results in tooth loss. traditional periodontal therapies that use conventional instrumentation, often struggle to eliminate the disease effectively in inaccessible tooth parts. in addition, currently employed adjuvant agents in periodontal therapy have many undesirable side effects. this has encouraged the exploration of natural compounds with higher biocompatibility, therapeutic index, safety and lower cost. luteolin, a flavonoid found in many herbs, vegetables, and fruits, exhibits several beneficial properties for periodontal health, suggesting that it could be an effective therapeutic agent in countering periodontal diseases. however,  further exploration of its therapeutic potential is necessary. thus, this study aimed to review the current evidence on luteolin’s therapeutic role in periodontal therapy. a comprehensive search in the scientific literature databases (pubmed, scopus, and web of science) was conducted for studies investigating luteolin’s role in periodontal therapy. the search yielded 106 papers and after discarding 86 papers that did not fit the inclusion criteria, 20 studies were considered for analysis. these included 11 studies on cell lines, 4 related to animal experiments, 3 on microbiological profiling and 2 on human participants. data regarding the study characteristics were extracted and summarized. all the evidence gathered from the reviewed papers consistently demonstrated that luteolin has potent biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties that combat the etiopathogenic factors affecting the establishment and progression of periodontal diseases. in conclusion, luteolin holds considerable promise as an adjuvant therapeutic agent in periodontal disease management. with further research, it could become a key component in periodontal treatment strategies.