Antibacterial Effects of Natural Herbal Extracts on Streptococcus mutans: Can They Be Potential Additives in Dentifrices?

BACKGROUND: Many plants or herbs exhibit potent antimicrobial activity against various microorganisms. They have no side effects and presumably act against and modulate the factors that are crucial for microbial survival or their activity. Streptococcus mutans is a pioneer bacteria implicated in dental caries. This study aims to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of garlic bulbs, pudina leaves, and mango and eucalyptus twig extracts on Streptococcus mutans by evaluating their zone of inhibition and determining their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). METHODS: Microbiological assay (well diffusion method) to determine zone of inhibition against pure forms of Streptococcus mutans was performed. The antibacterial effects of methanolic extracts of mango twigs, eucalyptus twigs, pudina leaves, and garlic bulbs were studied. Test compounds were further evaluated for their MIC. RESULTS: Extracts derived from mango and eucalyptus twigs showed significant antibacterial effects at test concentrations. Pudina and garlic extracts did not show any significant antibacterial effects at similar concentrations. Upon further evaluation of the 2 positive compounds for their MIC, mango twigs demonstrated more antimicrobial potential than eucalyptus twigs at a lower concentration. CONCLUSION: Our observations indicated that the mango twig extracts possess higher antibacterial effects against Streptococcus mutans than other compounds at specific test concentration.

Image Montaging for Creating a Virtual Pathology Slide: An Innovative and Economical Tool to Obtain a Whole Slide Image.

Background. Microscopes are omnipresent throughout the field of biological research. With microscopes one can see in detail what is going on at the cellular level in tissues. Though it is a ubiquitous tool, the limitation is that with high magnification there is a small field of view. It is often advantageous to see an entire sample at high magnification. Over the years technological advancements in optics have helped to provide solutions to this limitation of microscopes by creating the so-called dedicated "slide scanners" which can provide a "whole slide digital image." These scanners can provide seamless, large-field-of-view, high resolution image of entire tissue section. The only disadvantage of such complete slide imaging system is its outrageous cost, thereby hindering their practical use by most laboratories, especially in developing and low resource countries. Methods. In a quest for their substitute, we tried commonly used image editing software Adobe Photoshop along with a basic image capturing device attached to a trinocular microscope to create a digital pathology slide. Results. The seamless image created using Adobe Photoshop maintained its diagnostic quality. Conclusion. With time and effort photomicrographs obtained from a basic camera-microscope set up can be combined and merged in Adobe Photoshop to create a whole slide digital image of practically usable quality at a negligible cost.

Role of serum ß-carotene in the diagnosis and prevention of oral squamous cell carcinoma - a case control study.

CONTEXT: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common cancer of the head and neck. It accounts for more than 90% of all malignancies Which occur in the head and neck region. The high incidence and mortality rate of oral cancer stimulates continuation of research on finding new diagnostic tools or markers for it. AIM: To evaluate the possible role of serum ß-carotene as a biochemical parameter in the diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The serumß-carotene levels in 40 patients with clinically diagnosed and histopathologically confirmed oral squamous cell carcinoma were estimated and the levels were compared with those of 40 healthy controls. The serum ß-carotene levels were estimated by using a spectrophotometer. The data which was obtained was analyzed statistically by using unpaired t-test. RESULTS: Subjects with oral squamous cell carcinoma showed significantly lower levels of mean serum ß-carotene (149.95 ± 61.29) as compared to those seen in controls (278.19 ± 90.12). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study are encouraging and they suggest that the estimation of the low levels of ß-carotene in the patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma may be a useful diagnostic tool for making the diagnosis of oral squamous Cell carcinoma and thereby improving the prognosis of this dreaded disease.

Multiple hamartoma syndrome with characteristic oral and cutaneous manifestations.

Aim. To present a case of Cowden's syndrome and emphasize the importance of continued cancer surveillance in these patients. Cowden syndrome is an inherited autosomal dominant trait with incomplete penetrance and a range of expressivity. It is characterized by multiple hamartomas and neoplasms. Mucocutaneous features include trichilemmomas, oral mucosal papillomatosis, acral keratosis, and palmoplantar keratosis. Here, we report a case of Cowdens syndrome of a 30-year-old female patient who came with a complaint of multiple growths in the oral cavity of a three-month duration. On examination, multiple skin-colored, flat-topped papules over her forehead and right malar bone and multiple papillomatous papules involving all the mucosal surfaces intraorally were observed. This syndrome is associated with the development of several types of malignancies, especially breast carcinoma and thyroid carcinoma, which is why early recognition and regular and vigilant surveillance of individuals with the syndrome are important.