Journal Article
N-acetylcysteine mitigates oxidative stress and reduces alveolar bone damage on experimental periodontitis in rats
Ana Paula de Andrade Silva; Erick Alves dos Santos; Deborah Ribeiro Frazão; Vinicius Ruan Neves dos Santos; José Mario Matos-Sousa; Beatriz Risuenho Peinado; Deiweson Souza-Monteiro; Wallacy Watson Pereira Melo; Zuleni Alexandre da Silva; Everton Luiz Pompeu Varela; Jorddy Neves da Cruz; Carina Maciel da Silva-Boghossian; Fabrício Mezzomo Collares; Renata Duarte de Souza-Rodrigues; Rafael Rodrigues Lima
Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology · Vol. 399, Issue 11 · pp. 16963-16978 · 2026
Abstract
This study evaluated the effect of N-acetylcysteine on oxidative biochemistry and bone damage during the development of ligature-induced experimental periodontitis in rats. The rats were divided into three groups (n = 8/group): control, experimental periodontitis (EP), or experimental periodontitis plus daily N-acetylcysteine administration (EP + NA) (100 mg/kg/day). Periodontitis was induced by bilateral silk ligatures on the mandibular first molars for 14 days. The antioxidant capacity of N-acetylcysteine was measured by (2,2-azinobis [3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate] (ABTS• +) and 1,1-dipheny-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) assays. Gingival samples were collected for analysis of oxidative parameters, while mandibles were used for histopathological evaluations of inflammation and collagen content, as well as for micro-computed tomography assessments of bone quality and vertical bone loss. Data were analyzed by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), and Pearson’s correlation ( p