Background: Oral health is an integral and important component of general health. Infectious diseases such as caries, periodontal, and gingivitis indicate the onset of imbalance in homeostasis between oral micro biota and host. The present day medicaments used in oral health care have numerous side effects. The uses of herbal plants as an alternative have gained popularity due to side effects of antibiotics and emergence of multidrug resistant strains. Anacardium occidentale (cashew) and Mangifera indica (mango) have been used as traditional oral health care measures in India since time immemorial.
Materials and methods: The ethanol extracts of cashew and mango leaves were obtained by maceration method. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by clear zone produced by these plant extracts against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans in agar plate method, determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC), and suppression of biofilm. The cytotoxic effects of plants extract was determined by microculture tetrazolium assay on human gingival fibroblast and Chinese hamster lung fibroblast (V79) cell lines.
Results: Cashew and mango leaf extract significantly (P < 0.05) produced larger zone of inhibition against test pathogens when compared to povidone-iodine-based mouth rinses. Although the MIC and MBC/MFC values of mouth rinses were effective in lower concentrations; plant extracts significantly (P < 0.001) suppressed the biofilms of oral pathogens. The leaf extracts were less cytotoxic (P < 0.001) compared to mouth rinses.
Conclusions: Plant extracts are superior to the mouth rinses and have a promising role in future oral health care.
Keywords: Anacardium occidentale; Mangifera indica; antimicrobial; cytotoxicity; oral care.