Antibacterial activity of Achyranthes aspera extract against oral pathogens - An in vitro study

The objective of the study is to investigate the in vitro antibacterial activity of Achyranthes aspera bark extract against Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus acidophilus. Dental caries, otherwise known as tooth decay, is one of the chronic diseases of people worldwide and individuals are susceptible to throughout their life. Medicinal plants found in the environment harboring high bacterial cell density were long suspected to have protective mechanisms against microbial infections and offer a large and attractive phytochemical repertoire for the discovery of novel microbial disease control agents. Achyranthes aspera is one such important plant with various established pharmaceutical properties. Achyranthes aspera is procured from Green Chem Herbal extracts & Formulations, Bengaluru.The inhibitory effect of the extract was tested against two oral pathogens commonly causes dental caries by using the Micro broth dilution method. The extract showed significant antibacterial activity against the Lactobacillus acidophilus and No activity against Streptococcus mutans.