Antimicrobial Efficacy of Acacia nilotica Against Microorganisms of Oral Cavity- An In Vitro Study

Background One of the frequent dental problems is the lack of self-rejuvenation capability of cartilage tissue. Acacia nilotica commonly known as babul thorny acacia Egyptian acacia or thorn mimosa has been proven in medicinal uses. The current study was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy and phytochemical analysis of Acacia nilotica on microorganisms of oral cavity.Methods The flower extract of Acacia nilotica was prepared using Soxhlet apparatus. The antimicrobial testing S. mutans and L. acidophilus was done using agar well diffusion method. 0.2 chlorhexidine was used as a positive control. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration MIC was estimated using micro dilution assay and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration MBC was estimated using Colony Forming Unit CFU method. SPSS version 20 was used for statistical analysis.Results Phytochemical screening of flower extract of Acacia nilotica demonstrated the presence of alkaloids flavonoids glycosides tannins terpenoids steroids. The antimicrobial activity of the flower extract of Acacia nilotica showed varying degree of activity against the bacterial isolates. The flower extract showed relatively larger zones of inhibition 21 mm19 mm at 40 mgmL against S. mutans and L. acidophilus when compared with chlorhexidine. The MIC OD at 600 nm showed maximum inhibition at 40 mgmL against S. mutans and L. acidophilus which was about 78 and 91 respectively. The MBC value was the lowest concentration that showed no apparent growth on agar plate. Comparison between the groups against L. acidophilus was statistically significant than S. mutans.Conclusion The present study highlights the antimicrobial efficacy of Acacia nilotica extracts which could be considered in the preparation of indigenous herbal mouth rinse or toothpaste as the formulation inhibited all the micro-organisms tested in this study at low concentrations.