Propolis mouthwash was more efficient against the studied oral bacteria compared to chlorhexidine and listerine. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Objectives: Our purpose was to determine the antibacterial properties of propolis and to evaluate its use as an antibacterial mouthwash with minimal complications.

Materials and Methods: In this experimental laboratory study, an alcoholic propolis extract was prepared. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was calculated for four bacterial species including(),(),(), and() using agar dilution. According to the MIC, a propolis antibacterial mouthwash was produced and compared to water, chlorhexidine (CHX), and Listerine using laboratory rats for clinical examination. Salivary specimens of rats were collected at 12 hours, 1 week, and 2 weeks after using the mouthwash and examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and repeated measures ANOVA (α=0.05).

Results: The results of agar dilution by the number of colony-forming units showed the lowest MIC forand the highest for. Our RT-PCR findings indicated that water alone had no effect on the level of oral bacteria. Propolis mouthwash showed a significant difference with CHX and Listerine (P<0.05) in terms of the number of,, andcolonies, while CHX and Listerine were less efficient. There was no significant difference between CHX and propolis (P=0.110) regardingcolonies, but Listerine had a lower efficacy than either (P<0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results, propolis mouthwash was more efficient against the studied oral bacteria compared to CHX and Listerine.