Comparative evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of natural extracts of Morinda citrifolia, papain and aloe vera (all in gel formulation), 2% chlorhexidine gel and calcium hydroxide, against Enterococcus faecalis: An in vitro study

Abstract

Aim:A comparative evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of natural extracts of Morinda citrifolia, papain, and aloe vera (all in gel formulations), 2% chlorhexidine gel and calcium hydroxide, against Enterococcus faecalis—an in vitro study.Materials and Methods:The antimicrobial efficacy was assessed in vitro using dentin shavings collected at 2 depths of 200 and 400 μm. The total colony forming units at the end of 1, 3, and 5 days were assessed.Results:The overall percentage inhibition of bacterial growth (200 and 400 μm depth) was 100% with chlorhexidine gel. This was followed by M. citrifolia gel (86.02%), which showed better antimicrobial efficacy as compared with aloe vera gel (78.9%), papain gel (67.3%), and calcium hydroxide (64.3%). There was no statistical difference between data at 200 and 400 μm depth.Conclusion:Chlorhexidine gel showed the maximum antimicrobial activity against E. faecalis, whereas calcium hydroxide showed the least. Among the natural intracanal medicaments, M. citrifolia gel consistently exhibited good inhibition up to the 5th day followed by aloe vera gel and papain gel.

Influence of papain in biofilm formed by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus haemolyticus isolates

“…Although bactericidal activity of papain has been reported for gram-positive and gram-negative organisms (Dawkins et al, 2003;Chukwuemeka, Anthoni, 2010;Bhardwaj, Ballal, Velmurugan, 2012), there is no consensus about this function. Ferreira et al (2008) Considering the proteolytic characteristic described for papain and the biopolymer matrix composition of bacterial biofilms, this study aimed to evaluate the ability of papain to act as an inhibitor of biofilms in different concentrations.…”

“…Although bactericidal activity of papain has been reported for gram-positive and gram-negative organisms (Dawkins et al, 2003;Chukwuemeka, Anthoni, 2010;Bhardwaj, Ballal, Velmurugan, 2012), there is no consensus about this function. Ferreira et al (2008) found this activity for Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa only in 10% of papain.…”

“…Several studies reported papain antibacterial activity in gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (Chukwuemeka, Anthoni, 2010;Bhardwaj, Ballal, Velmurugan, 2012). Nonetheless, Ferreira et al (2008) verified that only papain gel 10% was able to inhibit S. aureus.…”

“…In addition, biofilms can also be found in wounds, which makes the treatment more difficult and increases wound bioburden (Kim, Steinberg, 2012;Percival et al, 2012;Dowd, 2008). Moreover, previous experimental and clinical data have recommended using papain to reduce wound bioburden and to promote wound healing (Payne et al, 2008).Although bactericidal activity of papain has been reported for gram-positive and gram-negative organisms (Dawkins et al, 2003;Chukwuemeka, Anthoni, 2010;Bhardwaj, Ballal, Velmurugan, 2012), there is no consensus about this function. Ferreira et al (2008) Considering the proteolytic characteristic described for papain and the biopolymer matrix composition of bacterial biofilms, this study aimed to evaluate the ability of papain to act as an inhibitor of biofilms in different concentrations.…”

Atividade antimicrobiana e biocompatibilidade de um medicamento intracanal à base de hidróxido de cálcio e aloe vera

“…Bhardwaj et al 19 evaluated the antimicrobial activity of three natural extracts and chlorhexidine 2%. They observed that chlorhexidine eliminated 100% of microorganisms, followed by the natural extracts.…”