Effect of curcumin on acidogenicity, viable bacteria and biomass in experimental biofilm model on human tooth

Abstract

Dental caries is the most prevalent disease worldwide. The goal of the study was to determine the effect of curcumin on the acidogenicity, viable bacteria and biomass in an experimental biofilm caries model on human enamel. A validated caries model with Streptococcus mutans ATCC 3568 biofilms was used. Biofilms were formed on enamel slabs during five days. To copycariogenic challenges, slabs were exposed three times per day for five minutes to 10% sucrose followed by five additional minutes of exposure to different dilutions of curcumin(5, 10 and 20 mg/ml) in dimethyl sulfoxide. Slabs were exposed to 10% sucrose followed by 0.9% NaCl served as caries-positive control. The acidogenicity of medium was measured twice per day by a pH meter. After the experimental phase, biofilms were recovered andthe biomass and viable bacteria were determined. Significant differences were observed in the number of viable bacterial cells and in the biomass (P < 0.05). Our findings suggest that curcumin significantly reduced the number of viable bacteria. Curcumin20 mg/ml appears to be the most effective dilution on the reduction of viable bacteria. All dilution of Curcumin decreased the amount of biomass in biofilms.