ISSN 2756-3421
African Journal of Dentistry ISSN 3216-0216 Vol. 7 (4), pp. 001-005, April, 2019. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
An in vitro preliminary study on the growth inhibition of oral microflora by snake venom
Rodrigo Crespo Mosca* and Nanci Do Nascimento, N.
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Energetic and Nuclear Research (IPEN-CNEN), University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil.
Accepted12 January, 2019
Abstract
Oral health in most Brazilian municipalities is still a big challenge, particularly with regards to universalization, the equity of care and the high cost involved in restorative therapy. The demand to discover new natural products with antibacterial activity for the prevention of dental diseases, and perhaps with less health and financial impacts, would be very important to obtain an effective way to control the formation of a biofilm pathogenic and dental caries. The objective of this work is to study the feasibility of the use of the biotechnology venom, native from different snakes, to inhibit the growth of Streptococcus mutans, which is the principal agent involved in dental caries. Our results showed that the venom of snakes Bothrops moojeni and Bothrops jararacussu inhibited the growth of S. mutans and the component responsible for the inhibition appears to be hydrogen peroxide. Although, it is still not fully conclusive, the tests already carried out show that snake venom is an important tool used to inhibit the growth of pathogens, especially those involved in caries diseases.
Key words: Snake venom, caries, Streptococcus mutans, Bothrops moojeni, Bothrops jararacussu.