Antibacterial Effect of Alcoholic Extracts of the Eugenia Caryophyllata, Rosmarinus Officinalis, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Camellia sinensis, and Mentha Pulegium Plants on Some of Bacteria in the Oral Cavity: A Laboratory Study

One of the main causes of tooth decay and periodontal diseases in the oral cavity is bacteria. The aim of this research was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of several plant extracts on some of bacteria in the oral cavity.

This laboratory study was conducted in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in 2021. Alcoholic extracts of Eugenia caryophyllata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Mentha pulegium, and Camellia sinensis plants were prepared by a maceration method. Then the antibacterial properties of the extracts were determined on 5 strains of oral cavity bacteria by agar well diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration methods. The mean diameter of the growth inhibition zone was measured and the data was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance followed by Duncan’s post hoc test.

The results showed that the most antibacterial effect was related to Eugenia caryophyllata extract and on Streptococcus mutans and Salivarus with mean and standard deviation of 20.03±0.45 and 19.06±0.20 mm, respectively. Based on the comparison of the means, the effect of extracts and gentamicin on diameter of the zone of inhibition was significantly different (p<0.05), but this difference was not observed for Eugenia caryophyllata extract on Streptococcus mutans (p>0.05). The minimum inhibitory concentration of Eugenia caryophyllata and rosemarinus extracts against Streptococcus mutans and Staphylococcus aureus was 6.25 mg/ml.

The results of this research showed that the plant extracts, especially Eugenia caryophyllata, can be effective as antibacterial substances in treating bacterial infections of the oral cavity.