Plants offer a rich source of antimicrobial agents and bioactive compounds. In this study, aqueous palm oil leaves extracts (POLE) have been used as an alternative antibacterial agent against oral infections mainly caused by S. aureus. Many previous studies report the potential use of palm oil leaf extracts in treating bacterial infections such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus species. However, few studies have been reported on the effect of palm oil leaves extract on oral microbes. Agar diffusion method, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) assay were conducted to observe the antibacterial activity of aqueous palm oil leaves extract. The crystal violet assay was used to determine the anti-biofilm activity of the extracts. For agar diffusion method, the diameter of inhibition zone was measured. The inhibition zone of the tested bacteria was observed between 0-20 mm. The MIC and MBC values for the tested bacteria were 3.906 mg/mL and 7.813 mg/mL respectively. While for anti-biofilm assays, aqueous POLE extract acts as a potent anti-biofilm agent with dual actions, preventing and eradicating the biofilm of the tested bacteria. In conclusion, we suggest that the aqueous POLE extract may serve as alternative natural antibacterial and anti-biofilm agent against oral infections.

This study aimed to compare the different selected extraction methods of propolis extracts against Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis). Extraction of Malaysian Propolis (MP) from Heterotrigona itama, was carried out using 70% ethanol. For the selected extraction processes, such as, centrifugation-assisted extraction (CAE), vacuum-assisted extraction (VAE), and shaking-assisted extraction (SAE) methods were used. Antimicrobial activity against E. faecalis was assessed using the antibacterial susceptibility test (AST). The results showed that SAE, followed by CAE, had better antimicrobial properties as compared to those obtained by VAE. The inhibition zones for SAE, CAE, and VAE were 5.3mm, 4.67mm, and 4.16mm, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) for extracted MP by SAE were 12.5 and 25 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, non-setting calcium hydroxide’s [Ca(OH)2] MIC and MBC were determined to be 50 and 100 mg/mL, respectively. As a result, we believe that extraction of raw MP from Heterotrigona itama using the SAE method was more effective than Ca(OH)2 against E. faecalis.

Objectives: An in vitro study to assess the effect of different milk products on the hardness of enamel surfaces. Materials and Methods: Extracted primary and permanent teeth incisors (15 deciduous and 15 permanent) were collected and cleaned. The extracted teeth were then divided randomly into five groups (n=6 per group): G1- distilled water (control); G2- fresh milk (cow milk); G3- chocolate flavoured milk; G4- orange flavoured cultured milk; G5 - fruit lassi milk. The 10 days immersion cycles for the test products were performed thrice daily and were interspersed with exposure of the artificial saliva. Measurement of microhardness on the enamel surface microhardness measurement were performed at baseline, 5- and 10- day of experimentation using Vickers hardness test machine. The pH of each milk products was also assessed. The data were evaluated with repeated measures ANOVA test. Results: Group 4 had significant reduction in microhardness (p<0.05) compared to the control group while Group 1 showed significant reduction (p<0.05) in microhardness compared to all tested samples for day 5 and day 10. While for intergroup comparison, there was no difference in group 3 and group 2. However, there were significant difference between group 4 and group 5 with all other groups on day 10 (p<0.05). Conclusion: Fresh milk showed to be more effective in increasing the enamel microhardness meanwhile orange culture milk has the highest reduction of enamel surface hardness. Thus, we suggest that milk product with low pH has high tendency in enamel erosion.