Evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of clove and turmeric extracts and their combination against streptococcus mutans and candida albicans isolated from periodontitis cases

This study was conducted at Osol Al-Deen University Teaching Dental Hospital. The study included 100 patients who presented with periodontitis. Patients were informed about the study and their verbal consent was obtained before participation in the study. Samples were taken from the patients in the hospital environment and cultured on blood agar as enriched medium. In the laboratory, subculturing was performed on HiChrom medium selective for Candida albicans and mitis salivarius agar medium selective for Streptococcus mutans. PCR technique was applied for the identification of C. albicans and S. mutans. As a result of these procedures, 52 of the 100 samples were identified as C. albicans isolates and 39 as S. mutans isolates. In addition, a new strain was discovered during the identification process and registered in the NCBI National Centre for Biotechnology Information. Crude aqueous plant extracts of clove and turmeric were tested to determine their antimicrobial effect on the isolates. The extracts were diluted at 5 concentrations (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%). Chlorohexidine for S. mutans and nystatin for C. albicans were tested again to find the best concentration close to the positive control. The results obtained revealed that some isolates showed resistance to the crude plant extract while others showed sensitivity.