Antibacterial Activity of Copaiba Oil Gel on Dental Biofilm

Amazonian biodiversity products that have been used for years in folk medicine, have emerged as feasible and promising alternatives for the inhibition of microorganisms in dental biofilm. Copaiba oil, a phytotherapic agent widely used by the Amazonian populations, is known for its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anesthetic, healing and antitumor medicinal properties.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial activity of copaiba oil (Copaifera multijuga) gel against strains of Streptococcus sp present in dental biofilm.

The copaiba oil was obtained and the chemical components were identified. The oil emulsions were formulated and used with the Brain Heart Infusion agar diffusion method with strains of Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus constellatus and Streptococcus salivarius isolated from patients as well as standard strains of S. mitis (ATCC903), S. mutans (ATCC10449), S. sanguinis (ATCC15300) and S. oralis (ATCC10557). The study groups were as follows: experimental copaiba oil gel, 1% chlorhexidine gel (positive control) and base gel (negative control). The seeded plates were incubated at 37ºC for 12, 24 and 48 hours, respectively. The results obtained were analyzed by Shapiro-Wilk and Friedman Tests (p<0.05) for non parametric data and the Tukey test was used for pH values with 5% level of significance.

The experimental copaiba oil gel and 1% chlorhexidine gel showed antibacterial activity against the tested microorganisms.

The copaiba oil gel demonstrated antibacterial activity against all the strains of Streptococcus sp tested, suggesting that it can be used for dental biofilm control.