Comparative evaluation of antimicrobial efficacy of three herbal irrigants in reducing intracanal E. faecalis populations: An in vitro study

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to evaluate the intracanal bacterial reduction promoted by chemomechanical preparation using three different herbal extracts named Ocimum sanctum (OS), Cinnamomum zeylanicum (CZ), Syzygium aromaticum (SA) against Enterococcus faecalis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Root canals from extracted teeth were contaminated with Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 for 7 days and then randomly distributed into 3 experimental groups of 10 teeth each: which includes conventional irrigation with OS, CZ and SA. The control groups included 5 teeth each consisting of NaOCl (positive control) and distilled water (negative control). Samples taken before and after chemomechanical procedures were cultured, and the colony-forming units (CFUs) were counted. Bacterial identification was performed using Polymerase chain reaction technique. The statistical analyses were performed with various tests. RESULTS: Reduction in the intracanal bacterial populations was highly significant for all the experimental groups. CZ and SA showed 80 to 85% intracanal bacterial reduction while O. Sanctum revealed only 70 to 75 % reduction. NaOCl showed 96 to 100 % bacterial reduction on the other hand distilled water showed very minimal bacterial reduction i.e 10 to 16%. CONCLUSIONS: Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Syzygium aromaticum and Ocimum sanctum showed intracanal bacterial reduction against Enterococcus faecalis. The 3 experimental groups were less effective in terms of intracanal bacterial reduction as compare to NaOCl but more effective than distilled water. Key words:Antimicrobial activity, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Enterococcus faecalis, Ocimum sanctum, Syzygium aromaticum, herbal extracts.