ABSTRACT
Aims: Knowledge on the plant phytochemistry provides a fundamental use of plants as a reservoir of chemical agents. Hence, the study on the presence of Phytochemicals in the aqueous extract of 100 different plant species belonging to 44 families collected from Chennai, India was detected. Place and Duration: Plants distributed in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu state in India were studied. The study was conducted during the period of November 2012 to January 2013. Methods: Leaves of around 100 plant species belonging to different habit like trees, shrubs, herbs and creepers or climbers from Chennai and its surround districts of India were collected. The aqueous extract of air dried, pulverized leaf samples of collected plants were examined for the presence of Tannins, Phlobatannins, Saponins, Flavonoids, Terpenoids, Cardiac glycosides and Steroids using the standard techniques proposed by Evans (1996). The presence of individual secondary metabolites was calculated in percentage and their prevalence in different plant habit was studied. Results: Around 29%, 20%, 23%, 48%, 22%, 30% and 44% of plants showed the presence of Tannins, Phlobatannins, Saponins, Flavonoids, Terpenoids, Cardiac glycosides and Steroids in that order. Further, the presence of secondary metabolites according to the plant habit like, tree, shrub, herb and creeper or climber was detected. Conclusion: It was evident that the presence of Tannin, Phlobatannin, Flavonoids and Cardiac glycosides are found prevalent in trees, Steroids in herbs and Terpenoids in shrubs. However, further study on this aspect is recommended.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of four most commonly used bristle designs of toothbrushes in plaque removal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a randomized 4 cell, examiner blind cross-over design assessing the plaque removal efficacy of all four brushes on a single occasion. Sixteen subjects aged 14-15 years participated in the study. On day 1 of each test period, the subjects were rendered plaque free and were asked to suspend oral hygiene practices for 24 hours. On day 2, the subjects were scored for plaque prior to brushing using the Turesky-Gilmore modification of Quigley-Hein plaque index. The subjects then brushed with the allocated toothbrush for 2 minutes and the post-brushing plaque scores were assessed. A wash-out period of 4 days was allowed between the test periods. RESULTS : All the brushes showed a significant reduction in the post-brushing plaque scores ( p < 0.001). The mean reduction in the plaque scores for all the brushes was around 53%. The percentage plaque reduction was greater in the anterior surface than the posterior surface (59.6 +/- 7.45% vs. 49.83 +/- 4.35%). The percentage plaque reductions in the upper, lower, buccal and lingual surfaces were similar. No significant difference in the reduction of plaque scores between the four brushes was seen. CONCLUSION: The data derived from the study supports the contention of many researchers that there is no single superior design of manual toothbrush. Though minor and some site differences in favor of the brushes were seen, they were not statistically significant.