Therapeutic Potential of Agarwood in Oral Chronic Inflammatory Diseases Management

Almost all people may suffer from gingivitis of varying degrees. As a kind of periodontal disease, gingivitis is mainly caused by many factors such as poor oral hygiene habits or immune dysfunction. Untreated gingivitis may develop into irreversible periodontitis. An important research direction of gingivitis is to find a drug that can reduce inflammation and has fewer side effects instead of traditional anti-inflammatory drugs. Agarwood is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine with high medicinal value. Previous studies on the chemical components and pharmacological activities of agarwood showed that the active components of agarwood, such as sesquiterpene and quercetin, have positive effects on the relief of inflammation. However, there is not much research on the use of agarwood to treat oral chronic inflammation such as gingivitis. In order to summarize the possible mechanism of the effect of agarwood on gingivitis, this paper reviewed and summarized domestic and foreign literatures. By reviewing the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, analgesic and immune activities of the active components of agarwood in gingivitis respectively, the possible mechanism of agarwood in alleviating oral chronic inflammation was demonstrated. This review will provide theoretical reference value for the application of agarwood and its secondary products in the treatment of oral inflammation.