Planta Med 2011; 77 - PE56
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1282387

Antimicrobial activity of essential oils onto pathogenic microorganisms of interest to dentistry

VR Santos 1, VA Noronha 1, JC Silva 1, FF Silva 1, TF Machado 1, GS Araújo 1, WG Generoso 1, ML Amorim 1, ID Barreiros 1, EG Aguiar 1
  • 1Department of Clinical, Pathology and Surgery; Faculty of Dentistry; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Essential oils have been used in folk medicine as active ingredients for medicines and cosmetics for the treatment of oral microbial diseases. This work studied the sensitivity of pathogenic microorganisms Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Candida albicans to 12 different essential oil components: Myrcene (Mir), ocimene (western), limonene (Lim), bisabolene (Bis), linalool (Lin), citral (Cit), caryophyllene (Car), citronellol (Cin) acetate, eugenol (Eug), and geraniol (GER). The cultivation and preparation of inoculum, as well as antimicrobial susceptibility testing and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) by the agar diffusion and successively dilution, were made in accordance CLSI (2007). 20µL of each oil were soaked in sterile blanc discs and placed on the agar surface previously inoculated with 1.5×108CFU/mL specific organism and incubated at 37°C for 48h. The inhibition zones were measured and the mean and standard deviations (M±SD) were tabulated. Discs containing Amoxicillin and Nystatin served as positive control of inhibition. The results showed that, except for geraniol and myrcene, all aromachemicals inhibited the microorganisms growth. The lowest MIC concentration was observed for bisabolene (0.88mg) while the highest concentration was observed for ocimene (4.25mg). These results suggest that essential oils tested could be used as active ingredients for oral use. However, further studies in vitro and in vivo should be made to confirm the potential antibiotic and low toxicity of the products in the oral environment.

Acknowledgement: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal Ensino Superior (CAPES), Fundação de Auxilio a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), Coordenação dos Cursos de Pós-Graduação da Faculdade de Odontologia da UFMG (CCPG/FOUFMG).

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