This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of Endoseal TCS, an mineral trioxide aggregate-based root canal sealer, mixed with water-soluble mangostin derivatives (WsMD) of Garcinia mangostana L. (mangosteen) ethanol extract against Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus. The antibacterial activity of Endoseal TCS mixed with WsMD against three strains of E. faecalis and three strains of S. aureus was performed using agar diffusion test. The data showed that Endoseal TCS mixed with 0.115% WsMD had a zone of inhibition of 0.7 ± 0.2–2.4 ± 0.1 mm. The results suggest that Endoseal TCS mixed with WsMD of Garcinia mangostana L. ethanol extract is useful as a root canal sealer with antibacterial activity against E. faecalis and S. aureus .

The creation of probiotic-containing fermented milk products for use by human is an important research topic and has high potential for development. Also, studies have shown that heat-killed probiotics are more stable and easier to use than live probiotics. However, as of this time, research has not been reported in Korea that has evaluated the product or functionality of fermented milk after the addition of heat-killed probiotics. This study was conducted to verify the physiological activity of heat-killed Enterococcus faecalis EF-2001 after its addition to Lactobacillus-fermented milk. Briefly, NFM normal fermented milk (NFM) was used as the control sample, whereas fermented milk with 100 μg/mL EF-2001 (EFM1) and fermented milk with 500 μg/mL EF-2001 (EFM2) were used as the treated samples. Among the samples, EFM2 had the highest acidity of 1.15, but no other factors significantly differed (p<0.05). Furthermore, EFM2 had the highest Lactobacillus count of 9.22 (p<0.05). ABTS, DPPH and FRAP were measured to determine the antioxidant activity of the samples. With respect to those parameters, EFM2 had the highest antioxidant measurements. Therefore, the study confirmed that the addition of E. faecalis EF-2001 to NFM is suitable with the standard and does not affect the quality of characteristics. In conclusion, the treatment sample had higher antioxidant activity than did NFM; this result may be used as a basic for further research and as a guideline for the manufacturing of heat-killed probiotic-containing NFM.

Enterococcus faecalis is a major causative agent of endodontic treatment failure. The purpose of this study was to investigate bactericidal effects of ethanol extract of Garcinia mangostana L. (mangosteen extract) on five strains of E. faecalis that were isolated from human oral cavities. The bactericidal effects of mangosteen extract were assessed by measurement of minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value. The cytotoxicity of mangosteen extract on immortalized human gingival fibroblasts, hTERT-hNOF, was determined based on cell counting method. The data revealed the MBC value of mangosteen extract against the E. faecalis strains was 4 ㎍/ml. Additionally, the cell viability of mangosteen extract on hTERT-hNOF was 83.7-89.1% at the 1 to 16 ㎍/ml. These findings indicated that mangosteen extract could be used as a root canal cleaner during management of endodontic treatment failure caused by E. faecalis.

본 연구는 서울시내에서 시판중인 식육에서 E. faecalis 를 분리하고 이 균들의 항생제 내성 패턴, 항생제 유출 펌 프 유전자 및 병독성 유전자의 분포를 분석하였다. 총 277 개의 식육시료에서 93균주의 E. faecalis 를 분리하였다. 이 균주들의 항생제 내성비율은 ampicillin에는 35.5%, chloramphenicol에 6.4%, ciprofloxacin에 4.3%, eryhtromycin 에 18.3%, quinupristin-dalfopristin에 76.3%, tetracycline에 45.2%의 내성이었으며 levofloxacin, teiconplanin 및 vancomycin에는 모든 균이 감수성이었다. 약물 유출펌프인 MFS 타입의 eme(A)와 ABC 타입의 efr(A)유전자는 모든 균주 (100%)에서 확인되었으며 efr(B)는 98.9%, lsa는 91.4%의 균주에서 확인되었다. 병독성 인자인 gel(E)는 68.8%, ace 는 90.3%, asa1는 47.3%, efaA는 91.4%, esp는 12.9%의 균주에서 확인되었다. 본 연구는 시판 식육에서 분리한 지 표 미생물의 하나인 E. faecalis의 항생제 내성, 약물유출 펌프 및 병독서 유전자의 분포를 분석한 연구로 지속적인 모니터링을 하여야 할 것으로 사료된다.

The aim of this study was to investigate antimicrobial effect of oleanolic acid (OA), ursolic acid (UA), and sophoraflavanone G against Enterococcus faecalis and Propionibacterium acnes, which are the major causative bacteria of endodontic infections. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). The data showed that the OA, UA, and sophoraflavanone G had antimicrobial effect on all the strains use in the study with 16-64 µg/ml, 8-64 µg/ml, and 1-8 µg/ml of MIC values, respectively. These results indicate that OA, UA, and sophoraflavanone G could be useful in the development of antiseptic solution for washing the root canal in endodontic treatments.

Enterococcus faecalis, a gram-positive bacterium, has been implicated in endodontic infections, particularly in chronic apical periodontitis. Proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), are involved in the pathogenesis of these apical lesions. E. faecalis has been reported to stimulate macrophages to produce TNF-α. The present study investigated the mechanisms involved in TNF-α production by a murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7 in response to exposure to E. faecalis. Both live and heat-killed E. faecalis induced high levels of gene expression and protein release of TNF-α. Treatment of RAW 264.7 cells with cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of endocytosis, prevented the mRNA up-regulation of TNF-α by E. faecalis. In addition, antioxidant treatment reduced TNF-α production to baseline levels. Inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase also significantly attenuated E. faecalis-induced TNF-α expression by RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, activation of NF-κB and AP-1 in RAW 264.7 cells was also stimulated by E. faecalis. These results suggest that the phagocytic uptake of bacteria is necessary for the induction of TNF-α in E. faecalis-stimulated macrophages, and that the underlying intracellular signaling pathways involve reactive oxygen species, ERK, p38 MAP kinase, NF-κB, and AP-1.

Mitis-salivarius sucrose bacitracin(MSB) medium is widely used in the selective isolation of mutans streptococci(MS), a designation for a group of oral cariogenic species. Recently, we have isolated three bacterial strains grown on MSB agar from human dental plaques. The three strains exhibited biochemical characteristics similar to those of the biotype IV of MS, with the exception that they manifested a positive reaction for arginine deaminase. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize these three clinical isolates. The bacteria were identified with biochemical tests as well as by 16S rDNA cloning and sequencing. In order to compare the antibiotics susceptibility of the clinical isolates with that of type strain, the minimum inhibitory concentrations of 9 antibiotics were determined using broth dilution assays. The results identified all of our three clinical isolates as Enterococcus faecalis. All E. faecalis strains were found to be susceptible to penicillin G, amoxicillin, augmentin, and vancomycin, but were resistant to ciprofloxacin, cefuroxim axetil, and clindamycin. Our findings indicate that E. faecalis is capable of growing on MSB agar, and suggest that the MSB medium be improved so that only MS should be recoverable on the medium, as originally devised for their selection.

본 실험에 사용한 신생아 분변을 BL-NPNL 배지와 MRS(pH 5.4) 배지로 생균수를 조사한 결과, 각각 2.09×108 CFU/g feces와 1.06×109 CFU/g feces로 조사되었으며, 통성혐기성 유산균을 선발하여 내담즙산성과 내산성을 비교한 결과, SJ3, SJ6, SJ7, SJ-10균주들이 높은 활성을 보였다. 이들 유산균은 모두 E. faecalis로 동정되었으며, 향후 항생제 내성과 virulence factor에 대한 연구가 진행된다면 유산균 정장제와 사료 첨가제와 같은 probiotics 제품에 적용이 될 수 있을 것으로 판단되었다.