Comparison of antimicrobial activity between Phyllanthus acidus water extract and commercial mouthwash on oral microbe / Muhammad Shafiq Rosli

Phyllanthus acidus is a common village tree, especially found in northern region of peninsular Malaysia. Phyllanthus acidus or known as chermai has been used traditionally to treat several diseases such as fever and gum infection. This study aims to investigate the effects of Phyllanthus acidus water extract on oral bacteria and to compare its antimicrobial activities with the commercial mouthwash products in the market. In this study, two types of commercial mouthwashes which are Listerine® and Thymol solution were used to compare with Phyllanthus acidus water extract antimicrobial activities. Antimicrobial activity test was done by using broth microdilution method in a 96 wells round-bottom microtiter plate in order to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Phyllanthus acidus water extract for both Staphylococcus aureus and Lactobacillus casei bacteria. The result was obtained by observing the ability of the different concentrations of extract to inhibit the growth of bacteria in the wells. From this study, both Staphylococcus aureus and Lactobacillus casei growth were fully inhibited by Phyllanthus acidus water extract at mean concentration of 3.5 mg/ml and 0.55 mg/ml respectively. The antimicrobial effects of Phyllanthus acidus water extract were comparable with the commercial mouthwashes. In conclusion, Phyllanthus acidus water extract might be used as a mouthwash as it has the ability to kill bacteria that exist in our mouth.