antimicrobial activity of phytic acid, citric acid, and edta with and without propolis against enterococcus faecalis and candida albicans

Introduction: this study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial efficacy of chelation agents on enterococcus faecalis (e. faecalis) and candida albicans (c. albicans) when used alone or in combination with propolis. methods: one hundred fifty mandibular premolar teeth were selected. each canal was prepared with reciproc r25. the roots were then divided into two parts along their long axis (n=300). for e. faecalis and c. albicans, the samples were divided into 16 groups (14 experimental and 2 control) as follows: group 1a-1b [17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (edta)], group 2a-2b [10% citric acid (ca)], group 3a-3b [1% phytic acid/inositol hexaphosphate (ip6)], group 4a-4b (17% edta+8 mg/ml propolis), group 5a-5b (10% ca+8 mg/ml propolis), group 6a-6b (1% ip6+8mg/ml propolis), group 7a-7b (8 mg/ml propolis), control a-b (dimethyl sulfoxide). each tooth was randomly irrigated with 2 ml of one of the group solutions or dispersions for 5 min, and the solutions were examined for the bactericidal effect. results: for c. albicans, all groups showed less optical density (od) than the control group (p<0.05). the propolis group and the ip6 group had higher od values than the ca group (p<0.05). for e. faecalis, on the other hand, significantly lower od values were observed in the propolis+ ca group, compared to the ca and propolis groups (p<0.05). there was no significant difference between microbial growth among ip6, edta, propolis+ ca, propolis+ip6, and propolis+ edta groups (p>0.05). conclusion: ca and ip6 showed promising results in eliminating e. faecalis, one of the collective organisms responsible for failed root canals.