In vitro antimicrobial activity of Miswak extracts against some oral pathogenic isolates

Abstract

Background and objective: Siwak, Miswak, or Arak (Salvadora persica ) belongs to Salvadoraceae and is considered as the most widely used twigs since early times by Babylonians some 7000 years ago, it was later used throughout the Greek and Roman empires, and has also been used by ancient Egyptians and Muslims. The aim of this study was to determine the antibacterial activities of different extracts of Siwak on the growth of different oral isolates of Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aerus and Candida albicans. Methods: Experiments were conducted in the laboratories of the College of Science, University of Salahaddin and College of Dentistry, Hawler Medical University for a period from Jun. 2008 to Feb. 2009, to determine the effects of different Siwak (Salvadora persica) extracts at concentrations of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10000 µg/ ml on the growth of different oral isolates of Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. Results: The results showed that all Siwak extracts (especially Siwak aqueous extract) were effective against Streptococcus mutans. and Staphylococcus aureus. The strongest antibacterial activity was observed using the concentrations of 10000 µg/ ml. While Siwak extracts were ineffective against Candida albicans. Conclusion: Siwak extracts had significant antibacterial effect against Streptococcus mutans. and Staphylococcus aureus, and ineffective against Candida albicans.

Effects of Akaka Allium akaka Gmel. extracts on the control of bacterial growth

“…Plant alcoholic extracts were more effective against bacterial growth than aqueous extracts (Tables 2 and 3) which could be due to solubility of chemical constituents. Alkaloids are more soluble in organic solvents such as alcohol than in aqueous solvents (water in present study) therefore the alcohol extracts were more active against microbial growth than aqueous extracts (13,8,3). Agar disc diffusion techniques were shown to be more effective in the determination of plant extract effects than disc saturation methods because in agar disc diffusion technique exact amounts of plant extracts laid on each disc by using a micropipette while in disc saturation techniques, the discs were immersed in beakers which contain the solutions.…”

“…The growing plant is said to repel insects and moles (2). Published literatures in this field had demonstrated the effects of such a plant extracts on fungal and bacterial growth (3,4,5).…”

Antimicrobial Evaluation ofSalvadora persicaMethanolic Stem Extract andIn vivoModelling of its Identified Constituting Compounds Revealed Antibacterial Effect of 2-[(5-Iodosalicylidene)hydrazino]-4-morpholino-6-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-1,3,5-triazine in the Treatment of Dental Plague

“…It has been reported that the aqueous and methanol extract of miswak has biochemical activity against organisms involved in the pathogenesis of DP [4]. Palombo [5] and Omer et al [6] have also reported that methanolic extract of S. persica reduces adhesion of microbial pathogens to the tooth surface, which is a main event in the formation of DP and the progression to tooth decay and periodontal diseases.…”