Abstract
This study investigated the antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract of lemongrass (<i>Cymbopogon citratus</i>) and thyme (<i>Thymus vulgaris</i>) on dental caries-causing bacteria. Standard microbiological techniques were carried out on samples obtained from patients at St. Luke Hospital, Anua, Uyo. The percentage occurrence of five bacterial isolates obtained included: <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> (20%), <i>Corynebacterium sp</i> (10%), <i>Bacillus sp</i> (5%), <i>Lactobacillus acidophilus</i> (25%) and <i>Streptococcus mutans</i> (40%). The ethanol extract of lemongrass and thyme as well as the phytochemical analysis were determined. The results revealed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, glycosides, steroids and phenols in lemongrass. It also showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, glycosides, steroids and terpenoids in thyme. Antimicrobial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the ethanol extracts of lemongrass and thyme were also determined. The results indicated that at 100% concentration, <i>Bacillus sp </i>(25.5 mm) exhibited more susceptibility; <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> (19 mm) exhibited the least susceptibility and <i>Corynebacterium sp</i> was resistant to the ethanol extract of lemongrass. <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> (32 mm) exhibited the highest susceptibility while <i>Streptococcus mutans </i>(14 mm) exhibited the least susceptibility to the ethanol extract of thyme. <i>Bacillus sp </i>and <i>Enterococcus faecalis </i>exhibited the lowest Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) value which was 6.25 mg/ml. In this study, lemongrass and thyme proved to be potential antimicrobial agents against dental caries-causing bacteria.
Published Version
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