Controlling Wound Pathogen Using Stevia and Peppermint Based Mouth Gel

Aim: To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of Stevia and peppermint based gel on Streptococcus aureus, E. coli and Pseudomonas.

Background: In recent years, the research concerning the use of herbal products has been vastly analyzed to assess their antimicrobial properties. It has been found that these herbs have certain phytochemicals which contributes to its antimicrobial property. The common oral wound pathogens are Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Pseudomonas and Stevia-peppermint based mouth gel was formulated to check its antibacterial property.

Materials and Methods: Stevia and Peppermint powder was bought from a local supermarket near Poonamallee. 1g of each stevia and peppermint was measured and dissolved in 100mL of distilled water. The mixture was boiled using heating mantle at 70oC for 15 minutes. Then the extract was filtered using Whatmann No.1 filter paper. The filtered extract was further condensed from 80mL to 10mL. 0.5 g of carbopol was added to the 10mL extract to make it in a gel consistency. This gel was focussed to act against the three wound pathogens, S. aureus, Pseudomonas, E. coli. Through agar well diffusion method, the antimicrobial property of various concentrations of the gel was tested and compared with known antibiotic amoxicillin.

Results: The current study revealed that Stevia- Peppermint based mouth gel had antimicrobial activity at all concentrations but was significantly less when compared with the standard and there was no significant difference in the antimicrobial activity between different concentrations of the gel used.

Conclusion: From the present study, it may be concluded that Stevia- Peppermint based mouth gel have potent antimicrobial properties.