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Updated: May 23, 2026
Three-dimensional Inflammatory Human Tissue Equivalents of Gingiva
Published on: April 3, 2018
Effects of Calendula officinalis on human gingival fibroblasts
Pragtipal Saini1, Nouf Al-Shibani, Jun Sun
1Department of Periodontics, Indiana University School of Dentistry, 1121 West Michigan Street, DS 423, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
Background:
Calendula officinalis is commonly called the marigold. It is a staple topical remedy in homeopathic medicine. It is rich in quercetin, carotenoids, lutein, lycopene, rutin, ubiquinone, xanthophylls, and other anti-oxidants. It has anti-inflammatory properties. Quercetin, one of the active components in Calendula, has been shown to inhibit recombinant human matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and decrease the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β (IL), IL-6 and IL-8 in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and calcium ionophore-stimulated human mast cells.
Objectives:
To examine the effects of Calendula on human gingival fibroblast (HGF) mediated collagen degradation and MMP activity.
Material And Methods:
Lactate dehydrogenate assays were performed to determine the non-toxic concentrations of Calendula, doxycycline and quercetin. Cell-mediated collagen degradation assays were performed to examine the inhibitory effect on cell-mediated collagen degradation. Gelatin zymography was performed to examine their effects on MMP-2 activity. The experiments were repeated three times and ANOVA used for statistical analyses.
Results:
Calendula at 2-3% completely inhibited the MMP-2 activity in the zymograms. Doxycycline inhibited HGF-mediated collagen degradation at 0.005, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.05%, and MMP-2 activity completely at 0.05%. Quercetin inhibited HGF-mediated collagen degradation at 0.005, 0.01 and 0.02%, and MMP-2 activity in a dose-dependent manner. Calendula inhibited HGF-mediated collagen degradation and MMP-2 activity more than the same correlated concentration of pure quercetin.
Conclusion:
Calendula inhibits HGF-mediated collagen degradation and MMP-2 activity more than the corresponding concentration of quercetin. This may be attributed to additional components in Calendula other than quercetin.
