Antibacterial Activity of the Combination of Calcium Hydroxide and Ellagic Acid towards Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus acidophilus Nirwana Intan1,*, Meizarini Rr. Asti1, Rachmadi Priyawan1, Agustantina Titien Hary1, Huei Koh Wan2, Kumar Eshleen Nisha2, Razan Naufal Zhaffrano2 1Department of Dental Material, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia 2Faculty of Dental Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia *Corresponding Author E-mail: intan-n@fkg.unair.ac.id
Online Published on 07 February, 2024. Abstract Calcium hydroxide is a material commonly used in pulp capping because of its substantial antibacterial property. However, this antibacterial property of calcium hydroxide is less effective on Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus acidophilus due to their resistance factors. Ellagic acid is a natural phenolic acid with extraordinary antibacterial properties. Combining calcium hydroxide with ellagic acid is expected to enhance its antibacterial properties towards Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus acidophilus. This study aimed to determine the antibacterial activity of the combination of ellagic acid and calcium hydroxide on Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus acidophilus. A suspension of Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria comparable to a McFarland standard 0.5 of 1.5 x 108CFU/ml was made. Three different calcium hydroxide and ellagic acid ratios were made by mixing 0.099g, 0.097g, and 0.095g calcium hydroxide powder with 0.001g, 0.003g, and 0.005g ellagic acid powder, respectively. These powder mixtures were then added with 0.1 mL of sterile distilled water. Four Mueller Hinton Petri dishes were divided into four sections each. The mixtures of these powders were applied to the petri dish with the diffusion method. There are significant differences (p<0.05) between every group for Lactobacillus acidophilus. Similar results are also observed between all groups of Enterococcus faecalis except for group 5 (ratio 97:3) and group 6 (ratio 95:5). The combination of ellagic acid and calcium hydroxide decreases the zone of inhibition of Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Top Keywords Calcium hydroxide, Ellagic acid, Enterococcus faecalis, Lactobacillus acidophilus. Top |