The Use of Green Tea Extract as a Storage Medium for the Avulsed Tooth

Introduction: Green tea extract (GTE) has been reported to have remarkable anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticarcinogenic effects and to prolong allograft survivals. The purpose of the present study is to investigate in vitro the efficacy of GTE as a storage medium for avulsed teeth. We estimated the possibility for storage medium by maintaining the viability of human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells. Methods: Human PDL cells were cultured and stored in the following media: (1) Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS), (2) tap water, (3) milk, (4) GTE, and (5) commercial green tea. After 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours, cells in different media were examined under the optical microscope, and their viabilities were analyzed by using a nucleocounter and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5(3-carboxymethonyphenol)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay. The data were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance tests with post analysis using the Duncan method (P < .05). Results: The result indicates that there was no difference in cell viability between GTE and HBSS media, whereas GTE showed higher cell viability than other media (P < .05). Conclusions: Our study shows that the efficacy of GTE in maintaining the viability of human PDL cells is similar to that of HBSS and higher than that of milk. Therefore, we conclude that GTE could be a suitable, alternative storage medium for avulsed teeth. (J Endod 2011;37:962-967)