Dental caries is a biofilm-dependent disease, and Streptococcus mutans is the primary etiological agent involved in the initiation of the disease. The extensive use of a limited range of antimicrobial drugs in dentistry has led to the development of drug-resistant bacteria. There is an increasing need to find new alternatives against drug-resistant bacteria. Globally, there is a continuous effort towards identifying natural anti-caries agents for the prevention and better management of caries. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the antibiofilm potential of Azadirachta indica leaf methanolic (ALM) extract against S. mutans biofilm. The study employed a standard reference strain of S. mutans MTCC 497, for in vitro standardisation of biofilm by microtiter plate assay. The antibiofilm activity of the ALM extract was evaluated against the S. mutans strain, and the same was confirmed by light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The in vitro biofilm standardisation results demonstrated that 50 µl/ml of S. mutans inoculum concentration exhibited a much superior biofilm formation than the other concentrations employed. Light microscopy and SEM images revealed that ALM extract at 100 mg/ml concentration significantly inhibited the S. mutans biofilm. To conclude, the study reports that the A. indica leaf extract is a potential source to inhibit the S. mutans biofilm. Further studies are warranted to identify the phytochemicals responsible for the antibiofilm activity of ALM extract against S. mutans biofilm that aid in the design of natural anti-caries products.

Dental caries is an age-old oral disease afflicting humans irrespective of gender, age, socio-economical background, and geographical location. Despite extensive research being done worldwide to prevent dental caries, it is undoubtedly still a significant public health issue. Streptococcus mutans, a commensal bacteria of the oral microflora, is the primary etiological agent strongly linked to dental caries. In recent years, medicinal plant-based phytotherapy has drawn great attention towards managing various diseases as it is effective and safe. The aim of the investigation was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of fresh Citrus limon fruit juice against S. mutans and to quantify its ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) concentration. Additionally, to determine the MIC, MBC and growth curve assay of standard ascorbic acid against S. mutans. Fresh C. limon fruit juice demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against the S. mutans reference strain (MTCC 497) by the agar well diffusion method. The ascorbic acid concentration of C. limon juice was found to be 0.194 % w/w by HPLC technique. The MIC and MBC values of standard ascorbic acid against S. mutans were found to be 12.5 mg/ml and 25 mg/ml, respectively. The growth curve assay demonstrated that ascorbic acid at a sub-MIC concentration of 6.25 mg/ml did not display any significant variations in the growth rate of S. mutans. To summarize, C. limon fruit juice is a potential source of natural antibacterial metabolites against S. mutans. Ascorbic acid, one of the chief components of C. limon fruit, is a promising agent for the development of anti-caries products. Further studies are warranted for developing novel formulations using ascorbic acid with other natural metabolites for the prevention and better management of caries.

The present study aimed to determine the antimicrobial nature of Citrus limon juice extract against Streptococcus mutans and to identify its metabolic profile by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. Materials and methodsThe cariogenic bacteria S. mutans were procured from Microbial Type Culture Collection and Gene Bank (MTCC), Chandigarh, India, and revived on brain heart infusion (BHI) agar. The C. limon (L.

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