Pistacia lentiscus berry oil (LBO) represents a typical vegetal product of the Mediterranean basin that has been formally used in traditional cuisine for 100s of years. In addition to its interesting alimentary properties, this product could represent an interesting candidate in the field of research on the study of new anti-infective agents. In fact, in Mediterranean countries, lentisk oil still continues to be widely used in folk medicine for oral and skin affections, in particular, acute gingivitis, pediatric skin infections such as impetigo and foot plaques, and biofilm related infections often associated with Streptococcus spp. Following these observations, we have hypothesized a “lentisk oil-bacteria” interaction, placing particular emphasis on the different Streptococcal species involved in these oral and skin diseases. In accordance with this hypothesis, the use of standard antimicrobial-antibiofilm methods (MIC, MBC, MBIC) allowed the interesting behavior of these bacteria to be observed and, in this context, the response to lentisk oil appears to be correlated with the pathogenic profile of the considered microorganism. Two probiotic strains of S. salivarius K12/M18 appeared to be non-sensitive to this product, while a set of five different pathogenic strains (S. agalactiae, S. intermedius, S. mitis, S. mutans, S. pyogenes) showed a response that was correlated to the fatty acid metabolic pathway of the considered species. In fact, at different times of bacteria development, selective High Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis of the growth medium containing LBO detected a significant increase in free unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) in particular oleic, palmitic and linoleic acids, which are already known for their antibacterial activity. In this context, we have hypothesized that LBO could be able to modulate the pathogen/probiotic rate in a Streptococcal population using the fatty acid metabolic pathway to help the probiotic strain. This hypothesis was strengthened by performing antibacterial testing with oleic acid and an in silico evaluation of the Streptococcal MCRA protein, an enzyme involved in the production of saturated fatty acids from UFA. These results show that LBO may have been used in ancient times as a “natural microbial modulating extract” in the prevention of biofilm- associated diseases.

The oral microbial profile in humans has evolved in response to lifestyle changes over the course of different eras. Here, we investigated tooth lesions and the microbial profile of periodontal bacteria (PB) in dental calculus of a Sardinian pre-industrial rural community. In total, 51 teeth belonging to 12 historical individuals buried in an ossuary in the early 1800s and 26 modern teeth extracted from 26 individuals from the same geographical area were compared to determine the oral health status, bacterial load and amount of most relevant PB. Total caries and bacterial genomes count appeared to be sex-related in historical samples. Historical females presented a higher incidence of caries, PB pathogens and a higher bacterial load than historical males. Furthermore, we compared the PB profile of the historical individuals with the modern ones, revealing a notable increase in modern individuals of PB belonging to “Red complex bacteria” often associated with periodontitis and other chronic diseases of modern life. Our findings could be explained through an analysis of environmental factors such as socioeconomic, hygienic and healthy conditions that can have a great impact on oral health and bacterial composition among individuals of the same and different eras.

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Background: Different host proteins play a central role in cell response during bacterial infections, the Bcl-2-Associated X protein (BAX) and Vascular Cell Adhesion Protein 1 (VCAM-1) are often reported in infective primary events during cell injury. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the predictive value of these two proteins as biomarkers of oral bacterial infection, with particular emphasis on the tongue, which plays an important role in microbial homeostasis in the mouth. Methods: Twenty-nine patients were recruited and divided according to the Periodontal Index (CPI), 4 of them were severely compromised periodontal patients. Oral hygiene, gingival tissues and plaque presence were evaluated clinically. The laboratory analysis carried out on tongue tissue included: total bacterial genomes, proportion of specific periopathogens and BAX -VCAM-1 expression rate, while Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) were measured in saliva. Results: Neither tongue microbiological status nor salivary ROS level corresponded with the state of disease. VCAM-1 mRNA expression rate was comparable in all patients but, on the contrary, BAX expression resulted high in periodontally-compromised patients and appears related to periodontal status in the analyzed subjects. Conclusion: This preliminary work suggests that the BAX protein is a possible candidate in a prognostic marker study for oral diseases started by periodontal bacteria. For example, none of the evaluated clinical and microbiological parameters could predict the presence, prognosis or recurrence of periodontal diseases. This biomarker could be a valuable tool in determining the risk, diagnosis and prognosis of this human illness.