Research: ANTI MICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF EXTRACTS OF LEAF AND ROOTS OF Embelia tserjiam cottam AGAINST DENTAL PATHOGENS

Natural products today are most likely to exist and grow to become even more valuable as sources of new drug leads. This is because of broader degree of chemical diversity and novelty of molecules found in natural products than that from any other source. The oral cavity provides a diverse environment for colonization by a wide variety of micro organisms. The plant under consideration is reported in the traditional literature for treatment of dental disorders. Thus, the aim of this research work was to evaluate extracts of the investigational plant Embelia tsjeriam cottam against dental pathogens. Ethanolic extracts of leaves and roots of the plant were prepared using Soxhlet extractor. The prepared extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening for different active constituents. Dental pathogens were isolated from cavities and tooth tartar of patients. They were characterised morphologically and the prepared extracts were tested for anti microbial activity against these dental pathogens by cup plate method. The root and the leaf extract showed significant activity at a concentration of 100mg/ml against test dental pathogens. Thus the experimental work showed that the roots and leaves extracts of Embelia tsjeriam cottam have promising antimicrobial activity against dental pathogens thus proving their effectiveness in the treatment of various dental diseases thus confirming the traditional claims.