Abstract

Azadirachta indica is an evergreen, temperature tolerant, flowering plant distributed in India and other continents of the world. It is among medicinal plants with amultipurpose and multiple health benefits both traditional and pharmaceutical industries. Objectives: To identify bacteria species that cause carious teeth, to verify and compare the activity of A. indica extract and commercial toothpastes against thirty clinical pathogenic bacteria. Material and Methods: thirty bacterial test strains: Streptococcus spp, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Staphylococcus aureus, pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris was carried out in the study. Ethanolic extract of A. indica leaves and aqueous commercial toothpaste were prepared at varying concentrations which were applied on inoculated plates of Muller Hinton agar (MHA) using well diffusion method. Standardized discs of the synthetic antibiotics: ciprofloxacin and novobiocin were also applied on inoculated plates of (MHA). Results: A. indica leaf extract showed moderate antimicrobial activity against all bacterial species studied tested except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It showed maximum inhibition against Lactobacillus acidophilus at 12.5 mg/ml concentration, when compared with commercial toothpaste (p = 0.004). Conclusion: A. indica leaves possess good antibacterial activity confirms the great potential of bioactive compounds and is useful for rationalizing the use of this plant in primary health care.