Int J Oral Biol.  2013 Dec;38(4):141-147.

Antimicrobial Activity of Berberine against Oral Bacteria Related to Endodontic Infections

• Lee D
• Kim MJ
• Park SN
• Lim YK
• Min JB
• Hwang HK
• Kook JK

Abstract

It has been established that berberine has strong antimicrobial effects. Little is known however regarding the antimicrobial activity of berberine against endodontic pathogenic bacteria or its cytotoxicity in human oral tissue cells. The antibacterial properties of berberine were tested against 5 strains of Enterococcus faecalis and type strains of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Prevotella nigrescens, Prevotella intermedia, and Tannerella forsythia, which are involved in endodontic infections. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) measurements. The viability of normal human gingival fibroblast (NHGF) cells after exposure to berberine was measured using a methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The data showed that berberine has antimicrobial effects against A. actinomycetemcomitans with an MIC and MBC of 12.5 microg/ml and 25 microg/ml, respectively. In the cytotoxicity studies, cell viability was maintained at 66.1% following exposure to 31.3 microg/ml berberine. Overall, these findings suggest that berberine has antimicrobial activity against the tested bacteria. Nevertheless, lower concentrations in combination with other reagents will need to be tested before these in vitro results can be translated to clinical use.

Keyword

Antimicrobial effect; berberine; endodontic infection

MeSH Terms

Aggregatibacter
Bacteria*
Berberine*
Cell Survival
Enterococcus faecalis
Fibroblasts
Forsythia
Humans
Indicators and Reagents
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Prevotella intermedia
Prevotella nigrescens
Berberine
Indicators and Reagents