Essential Oils Extracted from Dryobalanops Lanceolata can Treat Dental Caries

Plants are major constituent of ecosystem and produce many beneficial products such as essential oils. Generally, these oils are used as a perfume but they also be utilized against numerous diseases including asthma, headache as well as cough¹. It is reported that these they can beat free radical and prevent the growth and development of bacteria and fungi. Accordingly, essential oils obtained from plants such as cloves², cinnamon³, ginger⁴ and turmeric etc. have antimicrobial properties against pathogens like Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi as well as the fungus Candida albicans⁵. Therefore, these precious oils can be used as natural bio pesticides.

In this regard, Dryobalanops lanceolata is considered as a valuable plant. Wibowo and team⁶ reported that the oligostilbenoid derivatives from stem bark of this plant possess antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis as well as S. xylosus. Moreover, according to research team led by Kuspradini⁷, oil extracted from leaves of D. lanceolata found to be effective agent against S. aureus as well as Candida albicans.

These facts urged Harlinda Kuspradini, Agmi Sinta Putri and Tohru Mitsunaga⁸ for designing an experiment to assess the antibacterial activities as well as antioxidant activity of essential oil obtained from leaves of D. lanceolata against Streptococcus sobrinus and Streptococcus mutans through in vitro research. In this experiment, scientists extracted the oil by means of steam distillation and characterized through gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The antioxidant activity was then analysed via DPPH (1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl) and by employing ascorbic acid as positive control.

This research team found eugenol (28.73%), gamma-terpinene (15.60%), 2-beta-Pinene (9.80%) as well as 1-Limonene (8.09%) as the main components of the oil. Conclusively, the tested oil exhibited satisfactory antioxidant as well as antibacterial activity against S. sobrinus and S. mutans, probably because of the eugenol compounds. These findings confirmed the potential of essential oil extracted from D. lanceolata leaves to be used as an alternative anti-bacterial agent to prevent and cure dental caries ailments.

References:

1. Agusta, A., 2000. Essential Oils of Tropical Plants. ITB, Bandung, (Indonesian).
2. Ahmad, A., A. Shaheen, M. Owais and S.S. Gaurav, 2013. Antimicrobial Activity of Syzygium Aromaticum Oil and its Potential in the Treatment of Urogenital Infections. In: Microbial Pathogens and Strategies for Combating them: Science, Technology and Education, Mendez-Vilas, A. (Ed.). Formatex Research Center, Badajoz, Spain.
3. Nabavi, S.F., A. Di Lorenzo, M. Izadi, E. Sobarzo-Sanchez, M. Daglia and S.M. Nabavi, 2015. Antibacterial effects of cinnamon: From farm to food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Nutrients, 7: 7729-7748.
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5. Cheng, S.S., J.Y. Liu, C.G. Huang, Y.R. Hsui, W.J. Chen and S.T. Chang, 2009. Insecticidal activities of leaf essential oils from Cinnamomum osmophloeum against three mosquito species. Bioresour. Technol., 100: 457-464.
6. Wibowo, A., N. Ahmat, A.S. Hamzah and A.L.M. Low, 2013. Antibacterial activity of oligostilbenoid derivatives from the stem bark of Dryobalanops lanceolata. Open Conf. Proc. J., Vol. 4. 10.2174/2210289201304010116
7. Kuspradini, H., A.S. Putri, E. Sukaton and T. Mitsunaga, 2016. Bioactivity of essential oils from leaves of Dryobalanops lanceolata, Cinnamomum burmannii, Cananga odorata and Scorodocarpus borneensis. Agric. Agric. Sci. Procedia, 9: 411-418.
8. Harlinda Kuspradini, Agmi Sinta Putri and Tohru Mitsunaga, 2018. Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities of Essential Oils of Dryobalanops lanceolata Leaf. Research Journal of Medicinal Plants, 12: 19-25.