Using ginger supplement in adjunct with non-surgical periodontal therapy improves metabolic and periodontal parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic periodontitis: A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ginger supplementation in adjunct with non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) on metabolic and periodontal parameters in patients with type 2 DM (T2DM) and chronic periodontitis (CP). Material and methods: In this double-blind clinical trial study, 50 T2DM patients with CP were randomly allocated to intervention and control groups and received either 2 g ginger or placebo (4 tablets) twice a day for 8 weeks. All subjects underwent NSPT during the intervention period. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (CHOL), high-density (HDL-c) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c) cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-c), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), clinical attachment loss (CAL), pocket depth (PD), plaque index and bleeding on probing (BOP) were measured in all subjects at baseline and post-intervention Results: A significant reduction (P< 0.05) was observed in the mean levels of HbA1c, FBG, MDA, CAL, and PD in the intervention group post-intervention. There were no significant differences found in the mean levels of TG, CHOL, LDL-C, VLDL, TAC, plaque, and BOP in intervention group post-intervention. The mean serum levels of HDL was significantly increased in the intervention group post-intervention (P< 0.05). There were significant differences observed in the mean changes of HbA1c (-0.75 +/- 1.17 vs -0.16 +/- 0.44; P= 0.04), HDL (3.95 +/- 8.54 vs -0.76 +/- 5.04; P= 0.03), CAL (-0.57 +/- 0.50 vs -0.14 +/- 0.35; P= 0.003) and PD (-0.52 +/- 0.51 vs 0.19 +/- 0.51; P= 0.04) between intervention and control groups after the intervention. Conclusion: It is recommended that ginger supplementation together with NSPT may be effective in control of the glycemic, lipid, antioxidant and periodontal status in T2DM with CP.