In Vitro Effect of Amazon Plants Seed Extracts on Streptococcus Mutans

Dental caries is an oral disease that affects more than 50% of the Brazilian population. Streptococcus mutans is the leading cause of dental caries. The chemical control of dental plaque can be done as a prophylactic or therapeutic treatment, using products of plant origin, with the advantage of having lower rate of side effects, while delivering same quality and efficiency, when compared to synthetics. Seeds of 32 plant species were selected and tested for their ability to inhibit the growth of Streptococcus mutans in culture media, as well as to remove dental plaque by using extracted teeth from humans. The chlorhexidine was used as positive control in all tests. Some seed extracts have presented halos of S. mutans growth inhibition, behaving like chlorhexidine diluted to 0.2%, 0.1% and 0.05%, as Hymenaea courbaril, Zygia cauliflora, Mucuna urens, Parkia pendula and Ricinuscommunis. The seed extracts of the following species have removed 41.6 x 107- 39.6 x 107 cells, showing significant removal of dental biofilm: Cariniana micrantha, Hymenaea courbaril, Zygia cauliflora, Mucuna urens, Parkia pendula, Ricinus communis, Cucumis sativus and Ormosia excelsa. The results allowed drawing a profile of species, among the 32, for possible future use in dentistry.