Euphorbia tirucalli are reported to possess antibacterial activity against various microorganisms. This in vitro study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial properties of Euphorbia tirucalli stems extracts (methanol, ethanol and aqueous extracts) against dental caries-related bacteria, i.e. Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Streptococcus sobrinus (S. sobrinus). The antibacterial properties were determined using agar-well diffusion method at different extract concentrations (10, 20 and 30 mg/ml). Commercially available amoxicillin (10 μg) was used as positive control while the appropriate solvent served as negative control. The methanolic and ethanolic extracts of Euphorbia tirucalli stem were found to be effective against S. mutans and S. sobrinus. However, the aqueous extract of Euphorbia tirucalli stem showed no activity against both bacterial strains. The differences in the antibacterial properties in different extracts of Euphorbia tirucalli may be due to the differences in phytochemical constituents.
The Antibacterial Properties of Euphorbia Tirucalli Stem Extracts against Dental Caries-Related Bacteria
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Abstrak
Euphorbia tirucalli dilaporkan mempunyai aktiviti antibakteria terhadap pelbagai mikroorganisma. Kajian in vitro ini bertujuan untuk menilai ciri-ciri antibakteria ekstrak (metanol, etanol dan ekstrak akueus) batang Euphorbia tirucalli terhadap bakteria yang berkaitan dengan karies gigi, iaitu Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) dan Streptococcus sobrinus (S. sobrinus). Sifat-sifat antibakteria telah ditentukan menggunakan ujian resapan agar berlubang pada kepekatan ekstrak yang berbeza (10, 20 dan 30 mg/ml). Komersial amoxicillin (10 μg) telah digunakan sebagai kawalan positif manakala pelarut yang sesuai telah digunakan sebagai kawalan negatif. Ekstrak metanol dan ethanol daripada batang Euphorbia tirucalli didapati berkesan terhadap S. mutans dan S. sobrinus. Walau bagaimanapun, ekstrak akueus batang Euphorbia tirucalli tidak menunjukkan aktiviti terhadap kedua-dua strain bakteria. Perbezaan dalam ciri-ciri antibakteria dalam perbezaan ekstrak Euphorbia tirucalli mungkin disebabkan oleh perbezaan dalam juzuk fitokimia.
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