Efficacy of red betel leaf (Piper crocatum) against Candida albicans over acrylic denture surface: An in vitro study

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this article is to assess the efficacy of red betel leaf against Candida albicans over acrylic denture surface. Materials and Methods: This research used an experimental design. The efficacy of red betel leaf was assessed through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and immersion tests. The results of MIC test using microdilution method were determined using turbidimetric and spectrophotometric methods. The immersion test used 30 sterilized identical heat-cured acrylic resin plates (10×10×2 mm), five each for six groups contaminated by Candida albicans and immersed in different denture cleansers (red betel leaf extract with concentrations of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%, alkaline peroxide denture cleanser “fitty dent”® as positive control, and sterile distilled water as negative control). The number of microorganisms was calculated and analyzed using analysis of variance followed by post hoc test. Results: MIC of red betel leaf extract was 2.34% (turbidimetric method) and 0.29% (spectrophotometric method). The immersion test showed that the statistical analysis of the six groups was significant (P<0.01). The more the concentration of red betel leaf extracts (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%), the lesser the number of colonies of C. albicans (48, 8.6, 4.4, and 4.2 ×103 CFU/mL); meanwhile, the reduction value increased to 62.09%, 93.21%, 96.53%, and 96.68%. There were no significant differences between 30% and 40% red betel leaf extract concentration (P = 0.89). The highest number of colonies was in negative control (126.6 × 103 CFU/mL) and the smallest was in positive control (1.3×103 CFU/mL). Conclusion: Red betel leaf had efficacy against C. albicans over acrylic denture surface at 30% concentration.