antifungal and antibacterial activities of polyherbal toothpaste against oral pathogens, in vitro

Background and purpose: herbal toothpastes are more secure and efficacious and less poisonous due to containing natural chemicals as compared with the synthetic toothpastes. the present study aimed to formulate a polyherbal toothpaste using accessible medicinal plants in iran and evaluate its efficiency in the protection of oral hygiene and prevention of dental caries.materials and methods: the developed toothpaste was made of the leaf extracts of artemisia dracunculus, satureja khuzestanica (jamzad), and myrtus communis (linn), combined at four different dilutions, namely 1:4 (25%), 1:1 (50%), 3:4 (75%), and (100%), with sterile distilled water. the product was tested against five microorganisms, including streptococcus mutans, lactobaccilus caseie, s. sanguis, s. salivarius, and candida albicans, using agar well diffusion method.results: after 24 h of incubation, the maximum mean diameters of inhibition zone against l. caseie and c. albicans were obtained as 17-30 and 10-25 mm, respectively. furthermore, the minimum mean diameter of inhibition zone against s. salivarious was estimated as 15-20 mm.conclusion: the formulated toothpaste showed potent inhibitory activities against grampositive bacteria and c. albicans. therefore, more studies are required to accurately investigate the efficacy of the formulated toothpaste.