The purpose of the study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of the methanol extract of Coptidis rhizome against the type strains of cariogenic bacteria, Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus, and the periodontopathogens, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Treponema denticola and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. The antimicrobial activities of the crude extract and the methanol extract fractions of Coptidis rhizome separated by silica gel chromatography were evaluated by determining the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values, using the microdilution method. The cell viability test of the extracts of Coptidis rhizome on the KB cells was also studied by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Our results showed that the 11th fraction (F11) of the methanol extract had the greatest antimicrobial activity against the tested bacteria, with no associated cytotoxicity on the KB cells, upto a concentration of 50 μg/ml. These results suggest that the silica gel chromatography fraction F11 of the methanol extract of Coptidis rhizome, could be useful in the development of oral hygiene products as an antimicrobial agent for the prevention of dental caries and periodontal diseases.

This study investigated the antimicrobial activity of methanol extract of mulberry leaf against 16 strains of mutans streptococci and four species of periodontopathogens: Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. The antimicrobial activities of the crude extracts or silica gel chromatography fractions of methanol-extracted mulberry leaf were evaluated by determining minimal inhibitory concentrations using an established microdilution method. The cytotoxicity of the extracts of mulberry leaf on KB cells was tested by the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay. Chromatography fraction 12 displayed the most potent antimicrobial activity against all 16 strains of mutans streptococci, P. gingivalis, and P. intermedia. No KB cell cytotoxicity was evident up to 128μg/ml of fraction 12. The methanol extract had no antimicrobial activity against F. nucleatum and A. actinomycetemcomitans. These results suggest chromatography fraction 12 methanol extract of mulberry leaf could be useful in the development of oral hygiene products, such as dentifrice and oral hygiene solution, for the prevention of dental caries.

Ursolic acid is a triterpenoid compound present in many plants. This study examined the antimicrobial activity of ursolic acid against mutans streptococci (MS) isolated from the Korean population. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and time kill curves of MS. The cytotoxicity of ursolic acid against KB cells was tested using an MTT assay. The MIC90 values of ursolic acid for Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus isolated from the Korean population were 2 μg/ml and 4 μg/ml, respectively. Ursolic acid had a bactericidal effect on S. mutans ATCC 25175 T and S. sobrinus ATCC 33478 T at > 2 × MIC (4 μg/ml) and 4 × MIC (8 μg/ml), respectively. Ursolic acid had no cytotoxic effect on KB cells at concentrations at which it exerted antimicrobial effects. The results suggest that ursolic acid can be used in the development of oral hygiene products for the prevention of dental caries.

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.