Palm mixed-carotenes promote viability and exhibit non-cytotoxic effects on human oral mucosal fibroblasts

Palm mixed-carotenes (PMC), a carotenoid-rich fraction obtained from crude palm oil, contain provitamin A compounds with reported antioxidant and cell-protective activities. However, limited information is available on their biological effects in oral soft tissue cells. This study evaluated the effects of PMC on the viability of human oral mucosal fibroblasts (HOMFs) under in vitro conditions. Primary HOMFs were isolated from healthy donors and exposed to PMC at concentrations of 1.56 –100 µg/mL for 72 hours. Cell viability was determined using the MTT assay. Serum-free medium containing 0.1% dimethyl sulfoxide served as the negative control, while medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum was used as the positive control. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 29.0, and group comparisons were performed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test, with significance set at p < 0.05. PMC treatment maintained or increased HOMF viability across all tested concentrations. The greatest viability response was observed at 6.25 µg/mL, which was significantly higher than the negative control (p = 0.005). All PMC-treated groups showed viability values above the 70% cut-off specified by ISO 10993-5, indicating that the tested concentrations were non-cytotoxic. These findings suggest that PMC are biocompatible with HOMFs and may support cellular viability, particularly at lower to intermediate concentrations. This study provides early in vitro evidence to support further investigation of PMC in oral soft tissue research.