Antimicrobial Activity of Rosmarinus officinalis against Oral Pathogens: Relevance of Carnosic Acid and Carnosol |
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| Authors: | Wagner A Bernardes Rodrigo Lucarini Marcos G Tozatti Maria G M Souza Márcio L Andrade Silva Ademar A da Silva Filho Carlos H Gomes Martins Antonio E Miller Crotti Patricia M Pauletti Milton Groppo Wilson R Cunha |
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| Institution: | 1. Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas, Universidade de Franca, Av. Dr. Armando Sales de Oliveira, 201 14404‐600, Franca, SP, Brazil (fax: +55‐16‐3711‐8878);2. Departamento de Biologia da Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeir?o Preto, Universidade de S?o Paulo, Ribeir?o Preto, SP, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | The in vitro inhibitory activity of crude EtOH/H2O extracts from the leaves and stems of Rosmarinus officinalis L. was evaluated against the following microorganisms responsible for initiating dental caries: Streptococcus mutans, S. salivarius, S. sobrinus, S. mitis, S. sanguinis, and Enterococcus faecalis. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined with the broth microdilution method. The bioassay‐guided fractionation of the leaf extract, which displayed the higher antibacterial activity than the stem extract, led to the identification of carnosic acid ( 2 ) and carnosol ( 3 ) as the major compounds in the fraction displaying the highest activity, as identified by HPLC analysis. Rosmarinic acid ( 1 ), detected in another fraction, did not display any activity against the selected microorganisms. HPLC Analysis revealed the presence of low amounts of ursolic acid ( 4 ) and oleanolic acid ( 5 ) in the obtained fractions. The results suggest that the antimicrobial activity of the extract from the leaves of R. officinalis may be ascribed mainly to the action of 2 and 3 . |
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| Keywords: | Rosmarinus officinalis Carnosic acid Carnosol Caries Oral pathogens Antibacterial activity |
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