Zingiber officinale; an anti- Streptococcus mutans herbal drug: which is more suitable?

Streptococcus mutans, a member of endogenous oral microflora, is the key causative agent of dental caries. Because of the side effects of chemical agents such as chlorhexidine and increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics, there is an emergence need for alternative therapies which are affordable, not toxic and effective, such as plants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial potency of Zingiber officinale (ginger) extracts on Standard strain of S. mutans with usage of variable solvents.
In this experimental study, solvent fractions of ginger rhizome were prepared using, hexane, ethy acetate, methanol and water solvents and the bacteriostatic (MIC) and bactericidal (MBC) effect of different concentrations of each type of extract was evaluated on S. mutans ATCC 35668. The diameter of inhibition zone in Mueller-Hinton agar were also calculated.The given data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA and LSD tests.
The MIC and MBC of the methanol and water extracts of Z. officinale was found to be 12.5 and 25 mg ml-1 respectively. The figures for MIC and MBC of ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of the plant was 25 and 50 mg ml-1 respectively. Methanol and aqueous extracts made the highest inhibition zone diameters and ethyl acetate and hexane extracts gained the second and third rates respectively.
The differences in zone of inhibition diameters yielded from different kinds of extracts (P