Antimicrobial Effect of Medicinal Plants Against Streptococcus mutans: A Literature Review

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Iago Gomes Albuquerque
Manuela Almeida Montenegro Furtado
Nara Lhays Teixeira Nunes
Luzia Herminia Teixeira Sousa
Conceição Mikaelly de Vasconcelos Linhares
Maria Tayara Marques Freitas

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate, through a literature review, the antimicrobial potential of medicinal plants against Streptococcus mutans. Method: A bibliographic search was conducted in the PubMed database using the descriptors "phytotherapy," "medicinal plants," and "Streptococcus mutans," either combined or not, covering the period from 2011 to 2021. The search resulted in 99 articles. In the initial screening, 79 articles were excluded for not being related to the topic. Twenty articles were selected, but only 12 met the eligibility criteria, which included studies evaluating the antimicrobial effect of a single medicinal plant on S. mutans only. Among the results, several plant species with antimicrobial potential against S. mutans were identified, including Annona senegalensis, Melia azedarach, Copaifera langsdorffii, Copaifera officinalis, Zingiber zerumbet, Terminalia chebula, Trachyspermum ammi, Ocimum sanctum, Teucrium polium, Vitis vinifera L., and Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume. In summary, all studies showed antimicrobial effects against S. mutans, with particular emphasis on the studies with copaiba oil, M. azedarach crude extract, and T. polium, which demonstrated superior and comparable results to the effects of chlorhexidine, respectively.

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Review
Author Biographies

Iago Gomes Albuquerque, Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center

Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center, Sobral, CE, Brazil.

Manuela Almeida Montenegro Furtado, Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center

Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center, Sobral, CE, Brazil.

Nara Lhays Teixeira Nunes, Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center

Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center, Sobral, CE, Brazil.

Luzia Herminia Teixeira Sousa, Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center

Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center, Sobral, CE, Brazil.

Conceição Mikaelly de Vasconcelos Linhares, Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center

Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center, Sobral, CE, Brazil.

Maria Tayara Marques Freitas, Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center

Dentistry Course, UNINTA University Center, Sobral, CE, Brazil.

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