In-vitro Comparative Study of the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Combined Nutmeg, Aloe Vera and Neem as an Intracanal Medicament with Calcium Hydroxide on Enterococcus Faecalis

Abstract

Background: Ideal requirement of an intracanal medicament is that it should have an antibacterial action for the success of endodontic procedures. The "golden standard" intracanal medication is calcium hydroxide, but it still has drawbacks like internal root resorption. The search for an ideal intracanal medication that works well is an ongoing process that is still unsuccessful. In this pilot study, we attempted to search for new materials by drawing motivation from the earlier time. Ayurveda, started in India 3000 years back. Since many herbal products have demonstrated antibacterial, antiseptic, and analgesic properties, there has been renewed interest in them in recent years.
 Aim: To compare in-vitro, the antibacterial efficacy of a combination of herbal extracts i.e nutmeg + aloe vera, nutmeg + neem and nutmeg + distilled water with calcium hydroxide as an intracanal medicament on Enterococcus faecalis.
 Materials and Methods: The ATCC strain 29212 of the bacterium E. faecalis was used in the study. Mueller Hinton agar plate was vaccinated with E. faecalis. The herbal extract mixtures were pipetted into the agar wells on this agar plate, which had four wells with diameters ranging from 8 to 10 millimeters. After using calcium hydroxide as a control, which is the gold standard for intracanal medication, the plate was incubated. The width of the restraint zones around every one of the wells were estimated physically after hatching for 48 hrs.
 Results: The highest zone of inhibition was seen around the wells containing Nutmeg and its combinations. Nutmeg showed better antibacterial efficacy when compared to calcium hydroxide.
 Conclusion: Nutmeg shows promising results for its use as an antibacterial intracanal medicament.