Antibacterial and Plasmid-Curing Potential of Two Medicinal Plant Extracts in Dental Infections

Herbal extracts show strong antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans and related species.
Anacyclus pyrethrum exhibits lower MIC and higher efficacy than Ginkgo biloba.
Both extracts demonstrate effective plasmid-curing, reducing antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Significant inhibition (>81%) achieved against oral pathogens using plant-derived compounds.
Herbal extracts present promising alternatives to conventional antibiotics for dental infections.

KEYWORDS

resistance

Streptococcus

Ginkgo biloba

Plasmid curing

Anacyclus pyrethrum

TOPICS

ABSTRACT

The current study investigates the antibacterial properties and plasmid-curing effects of Anacyclus pyrethrum extract in conjunction with Ginkgo biloba extract on Streptococcus mutans and other Streptococcus species in patients with dental caries and periodontitis. The antibacterial evaluation was performed utilising Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC). While Ginkgo biloba extract necessitated 9 mg/mL to attain comparable results, Anacyclus pyrethrum extract achieved this at 8 mg/mL with S. mutans. The extract activation rate exceeded 81%. The experiment revealed that G. biloba required a dosage of 24 mg/mL, but A. pyrethrum necessitated 20 mg/mL to eradicate all the germs. Among all Streptococcus species, S. mutans demonstrated the most significant resistance to tetracycline and the least resistance to ciprofloxacin, while other Streptococcus species showed varying antibiotic resistances. The plasmid elimination assays revealed that the herbal extracts effectively eradicated plasmids in S. mutans, hence inhibiting plasmid replication and resulting in a diminished band intensity on plasmid staining compared to the ampicillin-treated samples. A. pyrethrum and G. biloba have shown their efficacy as anti-resistance therapeutic agents against oral infections owing to their antibacterial properties and plasmid-curing capabilities. The study demonstrates how these herbal extracts may serve as an alternative to conventional antibiotics in the natural treatment of tooth infections. They must possess clinical relevance, necessitating additional research involving actual individuals.

ABBREVIATIONS

MIC – Minimum Inhibitory Concentration
MBC – Minimum Bactericidal Concentration
MDR – Multidrug Resistance
AMR – Antimicrobial Resistance
PCR – Polymerase Chain Reaction
rDNA – Ribosomal DNA
PBS – Phosphate Buffered Saline
BHI – Brain Heart Infusion
MS Agar – Mutans Sanguis Agar
OD – Optical Density
DMFT – Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth
DNA – Deoxyribonucleic Acid
CO₂ – Carbon Dioxide
BLAST – Basic Local Alignment Search Tool

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thankfully acknowledge the State Key Lab of Materials, Shandong University, China for providing necessary facilities for performing this case study.

FUNDING

This research received no external funding. All work was conducted using institutional resources without dedicated grant support.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare that they have no known financial, personal, academic, or other relationships that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, the work reported in this manuscript. All authors confirm that there are no competing interests to declare.

PEER REVIEW INFORMATION

Article has been screened for originality

REFERENCES (22)

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