Table 1. Studies on the Application of Curcumin as a Photosensitizer in aPDT in Periodontitis.

Author/year	Type	Bacteria	PS (Concentration)	Light Source (Output Power, Intensity,Wavelength, Dose, Time)	Result	Conclusion
Araujo et al, 201212	Clinical trial	-	Curcumin 1.5 g/L	Blue light-emitting diode (67 mW/cm2, 450 nm, 20.1 J/cm2)	A significant difference was shown between PDT and curcumin alone. The PDT group reduced bacteria statistically significantly but the group treated with photosensitizers alone had no effect on bacteria counts.	Photodynamic therapy is efficient in the reduction of salivary microorganisms. Curcumin alone did not show a significant reduction.
Mahdi et al, 201513	In vitro	P. gingivalis, F. nucleatum	Curcumin, hydrogen peroxide, erythrosine	Light emitting diode (LED) device (570 mW/cm2, 440-480 nm, 2 min)	Blue light-activated curcumin and hydrogen peroxide (2 min) reduced P. gingivalis 100%, but light-activated (4 min) erythrosine eliminated approximately the whole population of P. gingivalis.	A Blue LED in conjugation with curcumin, hydrogen peroxide and erythrosine could serve for the reduction of main periopathogenic bacteria.
Sreedhar et al, 201514	Clinical trial	-	Curcumin (10 mg/g)	Blue halogen curing light (620 mW/cm2, 470 nm, 5 min)	Curcumin activated with blue light had significantly higher bacteria reduction in comparison with SRP alone. Several treatments of PDT reduced the bacteria to the minimum amount which was significant compared to single application.	Photodynamic therapy with curcumin is a useful treatment modality adjunctive to conventional SRP.
Najafi et al, 201615	In vitro	A. actinomycetemcomitans	Curcumin (5 mg/mL)	Blue light LED (400 mW/cm2, 420-480 nm, 120 J/cm2, 5 min)	curcumin had a significantly higher minimum inhibitory concentration compared to CHX (P < 0.05). CHX, LED + curcumin, curcumin, and LED group showed the lowest to highest bacterial growth respectively.	curcumin is an effective photosensitizer for growth prevention of A. actinomycetemcomitans, especially when activated by LED in the photodynamic therapy process.
Ricci Donato et al, 201716	Clinical trial	-	Curcumin (25 and 100 mg/L), Photogem (25 and 100 mg/L)	Blue light diode (LED) device (450 nm for Curcumin and 630 nm for Phatogem, 100W/cm2)	Curcumin (100 mg/mL) with 6 min light activation has greater superiority by presenting bacteria reduction immediately after PDT.	Photodynamic therapy using Photogem and Curcumin activated by specific emitting light are promising techniques for the reduction of bacteria in the oral cavity.
Pourhajibagher et al, 201817	In vitro	A. actinomycetemcomitans	Curcumin (0.3 to 40 µmol/mL)	Diode LED (1000-1400 mW/cm2, 450 nm, 60-80, 120-168, 180-240, 252-336, and 300-420 J/cm2, 1 to 5 min)	Curcumin with more than 10 µmol/mL concentration caused a significant reduction in the growth of bacteriacompared to the control group.	Photodynamic therapy with curcumin leads to decreased cell survival and virulence of A. actinomycetemcomitans
Saitawee et al, 201818	In vitro	A. actinomycetemcomitans	Curcumin	Blue LED Diode (420-480 nm, 16.8 J/cm2, 1 min)	Curcumin with no light activation did notshow a significant reduction in A. actinomycetemcomitanscounts.ButaPDTwithBlue light and Curcumin (0.78 µg/mL)solution produced a complete reduction of A. actinomycetemcomitans.	Curcumin is an effective photosensitizer when activated by blue light in aPDT.
Böcher et al, 20194	In vitro	Dental plaque samples	Curcumin (100 mg/L) HELBO Blue Indocyanine green	SLB group: Diode LED (600 mW, 445 ± 5 nm) aPDT group: HELBO TheraLite Laser (665 nm) aPTT group: FOX Q810plus (810 nm)	All treatment groups showed a significant reduction in the bacterial count, but the highest one occurred in the aPTT group (indocyanine green +810 nm).	Curcumin as a photosensitizer activated by 445 nm laser irradiation did not show any significant difference in the bacterial count compared to laser application alone.
Pourhajibagher et al, 201919	In vitro	A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, P. intermedia	Curcumin (40µM) Graphene quantum dot (100 µg/mL)	Blue LED (435 ± 20 nm, 60–80 J/cm2,1 min)	Cur + LED resulted in a significant reduction of the bacteria counts in comparison with the control group.	aPDT with curcumin might be a hopeful therapeutic option for the treatment of perio-pathogens mixed biofilms.
Mahdizade-Ari et al, 201920	In vitro	A. actinomycetemcomitans	Curcumin (80 µg/mL)	Diode LED (600 mW, 445 nm ± 5 nm, 100 Hz	aPDT with curcumin could significantly reduce microbial cell survival and metabolic activity.	aPDT with curcumin can be used as an adjunct modality for the management of local infections.
Zago et al, 20203	In vitro	Patient’s periodontal pocket	Curcumin methylene blue chlorin-e6	Blue LED :450 nm Red LED: 660 nm	12.5 µg/mL curcumin + 30 J/cm2 light dose could significantly decrease the microbial load in the planktonic phase. 100 µg/mL curcumin + 150 J/cm2 light dose could significantly decrease the microbial load in the biofilm phase.	photosensitizers at a suitable concentration associated with specific wavelengths and light intensity proved to be effective in eradicating oral biofilm in periodontal disease.