Antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of hydroalcoholic extracts of bee propolis (Tetragonisca angustula) and/or Calendula officinalis and potential use in mouthwash formulation / Atividade antimicrobiana e antioxidante de extratos hidroalcoólicos de propolis de abelha (Tetragonisca angustula) e/ou Calendula officinalis e potencial uso na formulação de enxaguantes bucais

Abstract

Calendula officinalis and propolis extracts have a wide range of biological activities, including antimicrobial action against a variety of pathogenic microorganisms. The aim of this study was to produce a mouthwash containing extracts of propolis and/or C. officinalis, with antimicrobial and antioxidant activity against pathogenic microorganisms implicated in periodontitis. The antimicrobial activity of extracts was evaluated based on the well diffusion assay. Total phenols, flavonoids and radical scavenging activity were evaluated by spectrophotometric method. The extract that showed greater antioxidant and antimicrobial potential against bacterial strains isolated from patients with periodontal disease were used for the composition of five mouthwash formulations. Thus, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus salivarius and Streptococcus pneumoniae were used as antimicrobial activity indicator microorganisms. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175 and Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 were used as control group. Five mouthwash formulations were developed, differing in the addition or not of raw propolis extract (20%), chlorhexidine digluconate or sodium fluoride (0.05%). The results indicate that propolis extract was more efficient than the calendula extract with antimicrobial action superior compared to azithromycin against S. pneumoniae, isolated from patients with stage III/IV periodontitis. The propolis extract had a higher flavonoid content (0.288 ± 0.038 mg EQ/g) than marigold extract. The F5 formulation containing chlorhexidine was more efficient in inhibiting Gram-positive pathogens, followed by formulations no. 2 and no. 4 which contained propolis extract. In this perspective, the propolis extract presented not only antimicrobial activity, but also antioxidant activity. Thus, the use of propolis in pharmaceutical formulas, such as the one presented here, could be especially useful in oral hygiene, contributing to the prevention of periodontitis.