Propolis, Aloe Vera, Green Tea, Cranberry, Calendula, Myrrha and Salvia Properties against Periodontal Microorganisms

Abstract

The oral cavity harbors hundreds of microorganisms that may be uncontrolled and provoke several diseases. In this sense, periodontitis is a complex multifactorial disease with an essential microbial component in its etiology. Periodontal treatment involves mechanical control of the supra- and subgingival biofilm, but not all patients respond predictably to treatment. In this way, the biofilm chemical control helps in the reduction of periodontal pathogens during treatment or in the delay of bacterial re-colonization after scaling and root planning. Several products have been studied as adjunctive therapy and have shown promising results. Therefore, the present article reviews the biological effects of propolis, aloe vera, green tea, cranberry, calendula, myrrha and salvia that may support their use in the control of subgingival biofilm in patients with periodontitis. All the natural products cited above showed exciting results against microorganisms related to oral diseases, mainly periodontitis. These substances also have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. The natural agents propolis, aloe vera, green tea, cranberry, calendula, myrrha and salvia demonstrated potential to be used as oral hygiene products, based on their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory actions.

Keywords: P. gingivalis; biofilm; natural products; oral microorganisms; periodontitis.

Figure 1

Mean and standard deviation of the mean of the metabolic activity of biofilms treated with the different agents. * A statistically significant difference using ANOVA, followed by Tukey’s test (p ≤ 0.05).

Figure 2

Average counts of each of the bacterial species present in the biofilm model under placebo and Desplac treatments. Statistical analysis performed using the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Dunn’s post hoc test (p ≤ 0.05). * Statistical difference between placebo and Desplac.