Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Oral leukoplakia is a diagnosis given to a white patch that cannot be categorised. The present study was conducted to assess lycopene level in patients with oral leukoplakia. Materials & Methods: 45 patients of oral leukoplakia of both genders were divided into 3 groups. Group I had non- smokers, group II had smokers without leukoplakia and group III had smokers with leukoplakia. Each group had 15 subjects. 5 ml venous blood was obtained for the assessment of lycopene by high performance using liquid chromatography. Results: Out of 45 subjects, males were 25 and females were 20. The mean lycopene level in group I was 125.4 ng/ml, group II had 46.2 ng/ml and group III had 30.3 ng/ml. The difference was significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Patients with leukoplakia had low level of lycopene as compared to healthy subjects.