Evaluating the Antimicrobial Efficacy of an Innovative, Novel Herbal Formulation on Dental Caries and Plaque Microorganisms - A Clinical Research.

To develop a novel, innovative herbal formulation that can prevent both dental caries and periodontal diseases simultaneously. This clinical research involved in vitro studies to determine Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of combinations of Acacia nilotica, Murraya koenigii Linn Sprengel, Eucalyptus hybrid, and Psidium Guajava on dental caries and plaque bacteria followed by evaluation of phytochemical constituents in these plant extracts. MIC was determined using broth dilution method. Then, an animal experimentation was carried out to determine median lethal dose and adverse drug reactions following single oral administration of polyherbal extract which was followed by human experimentation. A short term double blind randomized double blind study on 34 adult human volunteers was undertaken to assess antiplaque efficacy of a novel polyherbal mouth rinse using 0.2% chlorhexidine as positive control.MIC of the polyherbal combinations on S. mutans, S. sanguis, S. salivarius, L. acidophilus, F. nucleatum and P. gingivalis was found to be 0.25%, 0.05% , 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.25% and 0.25% respectively. Median lethal dose (LD50) for herbal formulation was found to be more than 2000mg/kg body weight. In vivo study found that the polyherbal mouth rinse group had lesser plaque buildup, S mutans and total viable count in comparison with saline group with no significant difference in plaque build-up and total viable count between polyherbal rinse group and 0.2% chlorhexidine. Polyherbal mouth rinse containing Acacia nilotica, Murraya koenigii L.sprengel, Eucalyptus hybrid and Psidium guajava was effective against dental caries and plaque induced dental diseases.