Effect of Eating Stevia-coated Fennel Seeds on Salivary pH: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Sugar-coated fennel seeds may exhibit cariogenic challenge, hence substituting sugar with stevia may be beneficial. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess and compare the effect of eating stevia-coated fennel seeds, sucrose-coated fennel seeds, and roasted fennel seeds on salivary pH. Methodology: A randomized controlled, Latin square design trial involving 15 female research participants aged 20–23 years were allocated to three intervention groups. Assessment of salivary pH after eating stevia-coated fennel seeds (Group A), sucrose-coated fennel seeds (Group B), and roasted fennel seeds (Group C) was done using salivary pH indicator strips at the baseline and after eating 1.5 g of fennel seeds at 1, 20, and 60 min. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N. Y., USA) was used for statistical analysis. The significant level was fixed at P < 0.05. The inter- and intragroup comparisons of the mean salivary pH were done using one-way and repeated measures ANOVA, respectively, followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. Results: There was a significant increase in salivary pH ( P < 0.01) at all time intervals from the baseline after eating stevia-coated fennel seeds compared to sucrose-coated and roasted fennel seeds. Conclusion: Eating stevia-coated fennel seeds showed a significant increase in salivary pH from the baseline compared to sucrose-coated and roasted fennel seeds, and hence, may serve as an anticariogenic mouth freshener.