In vitro effectiveness of Brazilian brown propolis against Enterococcus faecalis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of Brazilian brown propolis as an intracanal medication againstEnterococcus faecalis. Thirty dentin discs prepared from intact freshly extracted bovine maxillary central incisors were infected withE. faecalis for 21 days. The specimens were distributed into six groups according to the medicament used as follows: G1- calcium hydroxide paste; G2- Carbowax 400 (control group); G3- 20% brown propolis paste; G4- 40% brown propolis paste; G5- 20% brown propolis paste + calcium hydroxide paste; and G6- 40% brown propolis paste + calcium hydroxide paste. The experimental pastes were placed into the canal lumen and left for 14 days. After each period, irrigation was performed with sterile saline to remove the medicament, and the canals were dried with sterile paper points. The dentin chips were removed from the canals with sequential sterile round burs at low speed and were immediately collected in separate test tubes containing BHI broth. The tubes were incubated at 37°C, and microbial growth was analyzed by spectrophotometry after 15 days. All the experimental medications significantly reduced the number of viable bacteria. The G4 and G5 pastes were more effective than the G1 paste, with 35.8%, 41%, and 21.3% antibacterial activity, respectively. Brazilian brown propolis shows antibacterial capacity againstE. faecalis.本研究旨在评估巴西棕色蜂胶作为根管内用药，对粪肠球菌（Enterococcus faecalis）的体外抗菌活性。本实验选取30片由完整新鲜拔除的牛上颌中切牙制备的牙本质圆盘，用粪肠球菌感染21天。根据所使用的药物将标本分为6组，具体分组如下：G1组为氢氧化钙糊剂；G2组为卡波瓦克斯（Carbowax）400（对照组）；G3组为20%棕色蜂胶糊剂；G4组为40%棕色蜂胶糊剂；G5组为20%棕色蜂胶糊剂与氢氧化钙糊剂的混合制剂；G6组为40%棕色蜂胶糊剂与氢氧化钙糊剂的混合制剂。将实验用糊剂置入根管腔内，静置14天。静置期满后，以无菌生理盐水冲洗以去除根管内药物，再用无菌纸尖吸干根管内残留液体。依次使用低速无菌圆钻从根管中取出牙本质碎屑，立即将其收集于装有脑心浸液肉汤（Brain Heart Infusion broth）的独立试管中。将试管置于37℃下培养，15天后通过分光光度法分析微生物生长情况。结果显示，所有实验用药均显著降低了活菌数量。其中G4组与G5组糊剂的抗菌效果优于G1组，三者的抗菌活性分别为35.8%、41%与21.3%。综上，巴西棕色蜂胶对粪肠球菌具有抗菌活性。