Abstract

A herbal mouthwash containing essential oils of holy basil and mountain tea, extracts of St John’s wort and European goldenrod (Bucovia™) and cetylpyridinium chloride, was developed and in vitro tested for its efficiency against biofilm formation by Streptococcus mutans, together with its eradicating activity against already preformed (48 h with saccharose) streptococcal biofilm. The minimum inhibitory (MIC) and bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of the final formulation, as well as of its individual components, were initially determined. The results revealed that the mouthwash needed to be applied at two-times its MIC (0.63% v.v⁻¹) to completely inhibit biofilm formation by S. mutans, which was otherwise capable of developing a robust biofilm on the tested surface. Once fully developed, the matrix of the biofilm was found to contain a significant amount of exopolysaccharides protecting the cells, being impossible to eradicate even when exposed to pure mouthwash for 15 min, highlighting the great recalcitrance of biofilm-embedded S. mutans.

摘要

一种草本漱口水含有圣罗勒和山茶精油、圣约翰草提取物和欧洲一枝黄花 (Bucovia™) 和氯化十六烷基吡啶，已开发并在体外测试其对抗变形链球菌生物膜形成的效率及其根除活性对抗已经形成的（用蔗糖 48 小时）链球菌生物膜。最初确定最终制剂及其各个组分的最低抑菌浓度 (MIC) 和杀菌浓度 (MBC)。结果表明，漱口水需要以两倍于其 MIC (0.63% vv ^-1 ) 的浓度使用才能完全抑制变形链球菌的生物膜形成，否则能够在测试表面上形成坚固的生物膜。一旦完全发育，发现生物膜的基质含有大量保护细胞的胞外多糖，即使暴露于纯漱口水 15 分钟也无法根除，这突出了生物膜嵌入的变形链球菌的极大顽固性。