Formulation and Antibacterial Activity of Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng Leaves Ethanolic Extract as Herbal Mouthwash Against Halitosis Caused Bacteria

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Halitosis is one of the unpleasant conditions which could alter the self-confidence and cause serious illness. One of the treatments to overcome halitosis is by using mouthwash. Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng is one of the plants that is known to have antibacterial activity which can be used to overcome halitosis caused bacteria.
 AIM: To formulate the Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng leaves ethanolic extract as herbal mouthwash and to evaluate the antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
 METHODS: The methods of the study included the characterization and screening of Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng leaves dried powder; the extraction process by maceration using 96% ethanol; the antibacterial activity test of Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng leaves ethanolic extract and the formulation and evaluation of mouthwash dosage form with various concentrations of Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng leaves ethanolic extract.
 RESULTS: The characterization results showed that the Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng leaves powder contained 7.92% of water, 29.26% of water-soluble substance, 13.32% of ethanol soluble substance, 0.82% of total ash and 0.66% of acid insoluble ash. The screening examination gave glycoside, saponin, flavonoid, tannin and steroid/triterpenoid positive results. The antibacterial activity test of the Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng mouthwash showed that the dosage form with 2% of Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng extract successfully inhibited the growth of bacteria with 12.00 and 11.25 mm of inhibition diameter for both Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans, respectively.
 CONCLUSION: The Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng leaves ethanolic extract can be formulated in mouthwash dosage form and has antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans bacteria.

Antimicrobial Activity from Species Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng, a Review

“…In an interesting study, the crude P. amboinicus was used to prepare a mouthwash and the formulation coating only 3% of crude extract was able to inhibit the S. aureus and S. mutans growth, but similar to others studies with extracts the authors can't identify the/or compound(s) responsible by results. In general, the antimicrobial activity is linked, but not conclusively, to presence of phenolic compounds [31] and flavonoids [33], showed to us that further studies about chemical composition and antimicrobial activities for extract are necessary.…”

“…Extracts from different parts from P. amboinicus have been also evaluated, using agar diffusion methods, against several bacteria and the fungus C. albicans. As observed to essential oils S. aureus was the most susceptible strain, but in general, the extracts efficiency is lower than the observed to essential oils because even using higher concentrations the growth inhibition halo are lower diameter when compared to essential oils [22,[29][30][31][32][33][34]. This nature can be linked to the complexity of extracts where even having compounds with proved activity, its concentrations become too low to reach their potential effectiveness.…”

“…Several solvents are used to obtain P. amboinicus extracts but the extractions with methanol and ethanol showed the better results [22,[29][30][31][32][33][34]. It was observed in study developed by [32] a significant decrease in antibacterial activity when the extracts were obtained with more diluted hydroalcoholic solutions [32].…”

Potential applications of medicinal herbs and phytochemicals in oral and dental health: Status quo and future perspectives

“…Plectranthus amboinicus species contain antibacterial essential oils such as βcaryophyllene, p-cymene, and γ-terpinenecan. Antibacterial action was shown for P. amboinicus mouthwash by Nazliniwaty and Laila (2019) against Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that causes bacterial-induced halitosis, in a study. A salivary sediment model indicated that Punica granatum extract inhibited the production of VSCs by Parvimonas micra, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Fusobacterium nucleatum bacteria (Veloso et al, 2020).…”

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“…Ethanolic extract of Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng leaves can be formulated and used as mouthwash which has antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans bacteria 17 . Similarly essential oil of Plectranthus amboinicus Lour (malvariço), has been used by the people for the treatment of diseases of the oral cavity, alone or as a mouthwash against a strain of Streptococcus mutans 18 .…”