Original Articles: 2013 Vol: 5 Issue: 11
Antibacterial activity of two herbal extracts and 2% sodium hypochlorite against Enterococcus faecalis: An invitro comparative study
Abstract
Sodium hypochlorite is the most commonly used irrigant but it has disadvantage like high cytotoxicity. Literature have shown that various extracts namely Acacia catechu , Terminalia chebula, Propolis, Aloe barbadensis, Acacia nilotica, Curcuma longa ,Propolis, Salvia officinalis and Azadarichta indica have good properties which can be used as a potential endodontic irrigant.So there is a need to find an alternative to sodium hypochlorite against Enterococcus faecalis . The aim of the article is to find an natural remedy for treatment of Root canal failure. An attempt was taken to compare the antibacterial effects of Achillea millifolium commonly known as Yarrow and Hemidesmus indicus known as Indian sarsaparilla with 2 % Naocl against E.faecalis using broth dilution method. According to this study yarrow showed moderate antibacterial activity at 50mg/ml,whereas sodium hypochorite inhibits the growth of E.faecalis at 5 mg/ml while Hemidesmus indicus did not show antibacterial activity against the tested strain.The study indicate that 2% sodium hypochorite generally used as a root canal irrigant shows maximum antibacterial activity against E.faecalis when compared to Achillea millifolium ethanolic leaf extract which showed moderate inhibitory activity against growth of E.faecalis. It can be concluded that the tested plant extracts shows evidence of anti bacterial activity against E.faecalis through enhancing the success of Root canal treatment in natural way. The results justify the therapeutic applications of the active compound in the indigenous system of medicine, augmenting its therapeutic value in field of dentistry.