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Jeong, Kim, and Cha: Antimicrobial Activity of Methanol Extract from Ficus carica Leaves Against Oral Bacteria
Original Article

J Bacteriol Virol 2009;39(2):97-102.

Published online: 18 January 2009

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4167/jbv.2009.39.2.97

Antimicrobial Activity of Methanol Extract from Ficus carica Leaves Against Oral Bacteria

Mi-Ran Jeong1, Hye-Young Kim2, Jeong-Dan Cha

1Research Center of Bioactive Materials, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Korea

2Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Natural Sciences, Dongeui University, Busan, Korea Oral Cancer Research Institute, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

∗Corresponding author: Dr. Jeong-Dan Cha. Oral Cancer Research Institute, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University, 250 Seongsanno, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, Korea. Phone: +82-2-2228-3142, Fax: +82-2-392-2959, e-mail: joungdan@yuhs.ac

      Revised 2 April 200927 April 2009       Accepted 4 May 2009

Copyright © 2009 Korean Society for Legal Medicine

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Ficus carica L. (fig) belongs to the mulberry tree (Moraceae) which is one of the oldest fruits in the world. It has been used as a digestion promoter and a cure for ulcerative inflammation and eruption in Korea. The present study investigated the antimicrobial activity of methanol (MeOH) extract of figs against oral bacteria. The MeOH extract (MICs, 0.156 to 5 mg/ml; MBCs, 0.313 to 5 mg/ml) showed a strong antibacterial activity against oral bacteria. The combination effects of MeOH extract with ampicillin or gentamicin were synergistic against oral bacteria. We suggest that figs could be employed as a natural antibacterial agent in oral care products.

Keywords: Ficus carica (fig), Antibacterial activity, MIC/MBC, Synergistic

REFERENCES

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Table 1.
Checkerboard assay of the MeOH extract of F. carica leaves and ampicillin for some oral bacteria with a few reference strains
Strains Agent MIC/MBCa FICc FICIc Outcome
Alone Combinationb
E. coli ATCC 25922 MeOH Ampicillin 10/10 256/256 5/5 64/64 0.5 0.25 0.75 Additive
S. aureus ATCC 29213 MeOH Ampicillin 2.5/2.5 16/16 0.625/0.625 4/8 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. epidermidis ATCC 12228 MeOH Ampicillin 1.25/1.25 32/64 0.313/0.625 8/16 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. pyogenes ATCC 21059 MeOH Ampicillin 1.25/2.5 4/8 0.313/0.625 1/1 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. mutans ATCC 25175 MeOH Ampicillin 1.25/1.25 0.5/0.5 0.313/0.313 0.125/0.125 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. sanguinis ATCC 10556 MeOH Ampicillin 2.5/2.5 1/4 0.313/0.625 0.25/0.5 0.125 0.25 0.375 Synergistic
S. sobrinus ATCC 27607 MeOH Ampicillin 1.25/2.5 0.125/0.5 0.313/0.313 0.0156/0.0312 0.25 0.125 0.375 Synergistic
S. ratti KCTC 3294 MeOH Ampicillin 1.25/2.5 1/2 0.625/0.625 0.25/0.5 0.5 0.25 0.75 Additive
S. criceti KCTC 3292 MeOH Ampicillin 2.5/5.0 1/1 0.625/0.625 0.25/0.5 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. anginosus ATCC 31412 MeOH Ampicillin 0.625/0.625 0.5/1 0.156/0.156 0.125/0.25 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. gordonii ATCC 10558 MeOH Ampicillin 0.156/0.313 1/1 0.039/0.078 0.25/0.25 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
A. actinomycetemcomitans ATCC 43717 MeOH Ampicillin 0.625/0.625 32/32 0.156/0.156 8/16 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
F. nucleatum ATCC 51190 MeOH Ampicillin 1.25/1.25 2/4 0.0.625/0.625 0.5/1 0.5 0.25 0.75 Additive
P. intermedia ATCC 49049 MeOH Ampicillin 0.313/0.313 8/8 0.078/0.156 2/2 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
P. gingivalis ATCC 33277 MeOH Ampicillin 0.625/0.625 0.5/1 0.156/0.156 0.125/0.125 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic

a The MeOH extract: mg/ml, ampicillin: μg/ml

b The checkerboard test was performed as previously described (12). The MICs and MBCs of the MeOH extract with ampicillin against oral bacteria are indicated.

c The interaction was defined as synergistic if the FICI was less than or equal to 0.5, additive if the FICI was greater than 0.5 and less than or equal 1.0, indifferent if the FICI was greater than 1.0 and less than or equal to 2.0, and antagonistic if the FICI was greater than 2.0 (12)

Table 2.
Checkerboard assay of the MeOH extract of F. carica leaves and gentamicin for some oral bacteria with a few reference strains
Strains Agent MIC/MBCa FICc FICIc Outcome
Alone Combinationb
Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 MeOH Gentamicin 10/10 16/16 2.5/2.5 4/8 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 MeOH Gentamicin 2.5/2.5 2/2 0.625/1.25 0.5/0.5 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228 MeOH Gentamicin 1.25/1.25 2/2 0.313/0.625 0.5/1 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 21059 MeOH Gentamicin 1.25/2.5 8/16 0.625/0.625 2/2 0.5 0.25 0.75 Additive
S. mutans ATCC 25175 MeOH Gentamicin 1.25/1.25 8/16 0.313/0.313 2/4 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. sanguinis ATCC 10556 MeOH Gentamicin 2.5/2.5 32/64 0.625/1.25 16/16 0.25 0.5 0.75 Additive
S. sobrinus ATCC 27607 MeOH Gentamicin 1.25/2.5 8/8 0.313/0.625 2/2 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. ratti KCTC 3294 MeOH Gentamicin 1.25/2.5 16/32 0.313/0.625 4/8 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. criceti KCTC 3292 MeOH Gentamicin 2.5/5.0 8/8 0.625/1.25 4/4 0.25 0.5 0.75 Additive
S. anginosus ATCC 31412 MeOH Gentamicin 0.625/0.625 32/64 0.156/0.156 8/16 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
S. gordonii ATCC 10558 MeOH Gentamicin 0.156/0.313 32/64 0.039/0.078 8/16 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
A. actinomycetemcomitans ATCC 43717 MeOH Gentamicin 0.625/0.625 8/8 0.156/0.156 2/4 0.25 0.25 0.5 Synergistic
F. nucleatum ATCC 51190 MeOH Gentamicin 1.25/1.25 4/4 0.313/0.313 2/2 0.25 0.5 0.75 Additive
P. intermedia ATCC 25611 MeOH Gentamicin 0.313/0.313 16/32 0.078/0.078 8/8 0.25 0.5 0.75 Additive
P. gingivalis ATCC 33277 MeOH Gentamicin 0.625/0.625 256/512 0.156/0.156 32/64 0.25 0.125 0.375 Synergistic

a The MeOH extract: mg/ml, gentamicin: μg/ml

b The checkerboard test was performed as previously described (12). The MICs and MBCs of the MeOH extract with gentamicin against oral bacteria are indicated.

c The interaction was defined as synergistic if the FICI was less than or equal to 0.5, additive if the FICI was greater than 0.5 and less than or equal 1.0, indifferent if the FICI was greater than 1.0 and less than or equal to 2.0, and antagonistic if the FICI was greater than 2.0 (12)

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