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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oral. Health
Sec. Oral Infections and Microbes
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/froh.2024.1469174
This article is part of the Research Topic Dental Caries: Pathogenicity and Recent Advances in Targeted Antimicrobial Therapy Against Cariogenic Bacteria View all articles

Unleashing Nature's Defense: Potent Antimicrobial Power of Plant Extracts against Oral Pathogens and Streptococcus mutans Biofilms

Provisionally accepted
Joachim Hickl Joachim Hickl 1Aikaterini Argyropoulou Aikaterini Argyropoulou 2Ali Al-Ahmad Ali Al-Ahmad 1Elmar Hellwig Elmar Hellwig 1Leandros Alexios Skaltsounis Leandros Alexios Skaltsounis 2Annette.wittmer@uniklinik-freiburg.de Wittmer Annette.wittmer@uniklinik-freiburg.de Wittmer 3Kirstin Vach Kirstin Vach 4Lamprini Karygianni Lamprini Karygianni 5*
  • 1 Department of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
  • 2 Department of Pharmacognosy and Natural Products Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
  • 3 Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
  • 4 Institute for Medical Biometry and Statistics, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
  • 5 Clinic of Conservative and Preventive Dentistry, Center of Dental Medicine University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives: The increasing demand for alternatives to antibiotics against resistant bacteria has led to research on natural products. The aim of this study was to analyze the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of 16 Mediterranean herb extracts. Materials and Methods: The extracts were analyzed using High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of the extracts from Achillea taygetea, Cistus creticus ssp. creticus, Cistus monspeliensis, Lavandula stoechas, Mentha aquatica, Mentha longifolia, Origanum vulgare, Phlomis cretica, Rosmarinus officinalis, Salvia sclarea, Satureja parnassica, Satureja thymbra, Sideritis euboea, Sideritis syriaca, Stachys spinosa, and Thymus longicaulis were determined against eight oral bacteria and fungus Candida albicans. Microtiter plate test was conducted to evaluate the antibiofilm activity against Streptococcus mutans. Results: Overall, all tested extracts efficiently suppressed the growth of obligate anaerobic bacteria. When applied at concentrations ≥ 0.15 mg / ml, the extracts exhibited moderate to high antibiofilm activity comparable to that of chlorhexidine (CHX) against S. mutans. Interestingly, R. officinalis (MIC: 0.01 - 0.06 mg / ml) and O. vulgare (MIC: 0.04 - 1.25 mg / ml) demonstrated the highest antibacterial activity against oral bacteria. Additionally, R. officinalis and L. stoechas significantly inhibited S. mutans biofilm formation at 0.15 mg / ml. Conclusions: The tested plant extracts can be considered as alternative natural antimicrobial and antibiofilm agents. Clinical Relevance: Mediterranean herb extracts show promise as natural alternatives to combat oral bacteria and biofilm formation, offering potential new therapies for infectious oral diseases in the context of antibiotic resistance.

    Keywords: Mediterranean herb, Natural extract, oral disease, Antimicrobial activity, Biofilm

    Received: 23 Jul 2024; Accepted: 26 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hickl, Argyropoulou, Al-Ahmad, Hellwig, Skaltsounis, Wittmer, Vach and Karygianni. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lamprini Karygianni, Clinic of Conservative and Preventive Dentistry, Center of Dental Medicine University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.