The Antimicrobial and Anti-Biofilm Effects of Hypericum perforatum Oil on Common Pathogens of Periodontitis: An In Vitro Study

The antibacterial and anti-biofilm effects of Hypericum perforatum oil against the common pathogens of periodontitis (Escherichia coli, Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Porphyromonas gingivalis) was investigated. Disk diffusion (DD), minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) approaches were applied to test the antimicrobial effects. In order to determine the anti-biofilm effects, the amount of bacterial biofilm formation was assessed using the microtiter plate technique. The anti-biofilm effects were then confirmed by determining the minimum biofilm inhibitor concentration (MBIC). The MIC, MBC, MBIC, and DD values were 64, 256, 512 mu g/mL, and 14 mm for Staphylococcus aureus; 128, 256, 512 mu g/mL, and 16 mm for Streptococcus mutans; 256, 512, 256 mu g/mL, and 20 mm for Escherichia coli; 32, 128, 512 mu g/mL, and 16 mm for Enterococcus faecalis; and 64, 128, 256 mu g/mL, and 15 mm for Porphyromonas gingivalis, respectively. According to our results, Hypericum perforatum oil has antibacterial and anti-biofilm properties against the common bacteria associated with periodontitis.