EFFICACY OF MORUS ALBA FRUIT EXTRACTS AND CHLORHEXIDINE ON SALIVARY STREPTOCOCCUS MUTANS AND pH LEVELS

Summary

Dental caries is highly prevalent across the globe including Pakistan and is associated with tooth loss, malocclusion and temporomandibular joint problems and sometimes may cause life threatening infections. Streptococcus mutans is considered to be one of the major pathogen responsible for the development of dental caries. As treatment of dental carries is quite expensive, main focus is on the prevention of dental carries. Chlorhexidine is the gold standard mouthwash used for the prevention of dental carries but its use has been associated with certain side effects including staining of teeth, burning sensation and a bitter taste in the oral cavity. Many populations use medicinal plants as traditional or alternative treatments for various ailments due to their better safety profiles, health beneficial effects, lower cost and easy availability. Among the plant species used for medicinal purposes are those of the genus Morus. Its most commonly used species are Morus alba, rubra and nigra that have also shown antimicrobial properties against various infections in addition to other health promoting effects. Moreover, morus alba fruit has not been evaluated for its antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens including streptococcus mutans. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the antimicrobial properties against salivary streptococcus mutans and alteration of pH in the saliva of patients with dental caries before and after the use of chlorhexidine and morus alba fruit extract mouthwashes.

This study is double blinded randomised clinical trial. Sample size is calculated according to open Epi calculator and came out as 1 in each group. We will take sample size as 120 and the sampling technique will be non-probability consecutive sampling. Morus alba extract preparation will be done in the Botany department of Lasbella University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences (LUAWMS) Balochistan. According to inclusion criteria and after obtaining informed consents, samples of saliva of the individuals of 18-40 year of both genders will be collected from the OPD of Dentistry department, Civil hospital Uthal Balochistan at the beginning of the study and two weeks after the treatments. The total 120 subjects will be equally divided into three groups, 40 participants in each group (A, B and C). The subjects in group A will be given chlorhexidine mouthwash and the subjects in group B and C will be given 20% and 30% aqueous extracts of morus alba fruit in the form of mouthwashes respectively. The samples of saliva will be analysed for S.mutans counts and pH levels at baseline and 15 days after the use of respective mouthwash. Culture procedure for S.mutans count will be Dilution and Spread plate technique.

Conditions

• Dental Caries

Interventions

OTHER

Chlorhexidine Mouthwash

Patients were given chlorhexidine mouthwash 2 times per day for 15 days

OTHER

Morus Alba 20%

Patients were given morus alba 20% concentration 2 times per day for 15 days

OTHER

Morus Alba 30%

Patients were given morus alba 30% concentration 2 times per day for 15 days

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ziauddin University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Eid Muhammad, MPHIL · Ziauddin University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-10-20

Primary Completion

2021-02-04

Completion

2021-04-03

Countries

• Pakistan

Study Locations