Eugenol has therapeutic effects on the dentin and pulp and is used routinely as an antiseptic and anodyne in dental practice in the form of zinc oxide-eugenol mixture. However, this drug acts as an irritant and induces inflammation reaction. Recently, it was reported that eugenol was released from mixtures of zinc oxide-eugenol into pulpal space trough the dentin.
Neutrophils accumulate at the inflammatory sites and act as scavengers. Once the cells are activated, various oxygen metabolites which have been implicated as putative mediators of tissue injury associated with the inflammatory reaction are produced. This paper describes eugenol-mediated O2- production of guinea-pig neutrophils and the effect of the O2- generation by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) and azide.