In vitro investigation of antibacterial activity of Gum Arabic prepared by two different processing methods against Enterococcus faecalis

Abstract

Background: faecalis is a known cause of endodontic treatment failure. Synthetic drugs have been preferred for over decades but recently many plants have been reported for their antibacterial activity. The aim of this study is to investigate the antibacterial effect of mechanically ground and spray dried Acacia senegal against Enterococcus faecalis. Method: Antibacterial susceptibility test against Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212) has been performed for 200mg of ethanolic extracts of spray dried & mechanically ground Gum Arabic. Sodium Hypochlorite (1%), Chlorhexidine (0.2%) and Antibiotic multi disc for gram positive bacteria have been used as positive controls and ethanol as a negative control. The diameter of the inhibition zones have been measured. Results: spray dried Gum Arabic (14.67 mm) was significantly higher than mechanically ground (8.67mm). (p-value=0.02) Gum Arabic, with both processing methods, exhibited lower antibacterial activity against E. faecalis than chlorhexidine (0.2%).The result was significant with mechanically ground variant (P-value=.005), but the spray dried Gum showed no significance. Spray dried Gum Arabic displayed significantly higher antibacterial activity against E. faecalis than (Tetracycline 300mcg) (p-value=.0049). While mechanically ground showed lower antibacterial activity than Tetracycline with no statistical significance. Conclusion: Method of Gum Arabic processing affected its antibacterial potency. Spray-dried Gum Arabic is considered an active antibacterial agent against E. faecalis, while mechanically ground type is considered a non-active.