Cytotoxicity and Alkaline Phosphatase Activity of Curcumin, Aloin and MTA on Human Dental Pulp Cells.

Aim: The objective of this in-vitro study was to assess the cytotoxicity and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of curcumin and aloin extracted from Curcuma longa and Aloe vera , and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) on human dental pulp stem cells.

Methods: Human dental pulp stem cells (Lonza Group, Switzerland), curcumin (Sigma-Aldrich, USA), aloin (Sigma-Aldrich, USA), and ProRoot MTA (Dentsply, USA) were used in the study. 2.5-6.75-12.5-25-50 μg/ml of curcumin and aloin, 25%-50%-75%-100% of MTA were prepared; pulp cells unincubated with a material were assessed as controls. Cytotoxicity of all doses/concentrations of materials was analysed on days of 1, 2, 3, and 7 by WST-1 test. 2.5-6.75 μg/ml of curcumin and aloin, 25%-50% of MTA incubated with cells for 7-14 days were evaluated for ALP activity by ELISA test. Data was statistically analysed by One Way ANOVA, Tukey, and Sidak tests at GraphPad Prism 6.

Results: The findings have shown that 2.5 μg/ml of curcumin, all doses of aloin, 25% and 50% of MTA increased cell proliferation significantly on day 1 ( P < 0.05). Curcumin, aloin, and MTA decreased the cell viability as dose/concentration and exposure time increased. All materials have shown no significant increases in ALP activity ( P > 0.05) on 7 and 14 days.

Conclusion: Data of this study revealed that 2.5 - 6.75 μg/ml of curcumin/aloin, 25%-50% of MTA have promoted cell viability and proliferation of human dental pulp cells; and none of the materials have significantly increased the ALP activity at 7-14 days.