the effect of herbal plants on the inhibition of streptococcus mutants: the literature review

Streptococcus mutans is one of the bacteria that can be pathogenic in the context of dental caries. these bacteria are part of the normal flora in the oral cavity and play a role in the carbohydrate fermentation process. when we eat foods that contain sugar or carbohydrates, these bacteria break down the carbohydrates and produce acid. this acid can damage tooth enamel through a process called demineralization, which can then develop into dental caries if not treated. many of the traditional treatments involving plants are based on knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation. apart from experience passed down from generation to generation, several uses of plants as traditional medicine have received support from scientific research. this research aims to determine the inhibitory effect of herbal plants (garlic, cherry leaves, dayak onions, lime, red ginger, longan skin, pineapple, citronella leaves, mango leaves, bay leaves, ginger, mangosteen peel, rosella flowers, soursop leaves, avocado seeds, areca nut flowers, seed shells cocoa, and elephant ginger) on streptococcus mutans. this study was done as a literature review and relevant database were searched from articles connected papers journals from 2013-2023. in searching for this article, the google scholar, publisher page, pubmed database was used using the keyword streptococcus mutans. the results showed that 20 journals stated that the presence of flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and allicin contained in herbal plants could inhibit growth. streptococcus mutans, by damaging the integrity of the bacterial cell wall, endanger the bacterial cell membrane, causing leakage. cells, as well as disrupting bacterial cell metabolism. it can be concluded that there is an influence of herbal plants containing flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and allicin on the inhibitory power of streptococcus mutans.