Investigation of the antimicrobial activity of water and methanol extracts of Salvadora persica L. (Miswak) plant against some pathogenic microorganisms

The toothbrush tree Salvadora persica L, also called miswak, belonging to the family Salvadoraceae, is one of the most important of the 182 plant species used as chewing sticks. It is widely used in many Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries. The roots, branches and stems of this plant have been used for oral hygiene and small miswak sticks have been used as toothpicks for oral hygiene. In this study, commercially purchased Salvadora persica, L. (Miswak) plant used in oral hygiene were tested against seven pathogenic bacteria (Bacillus cereus ATCC 10987, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6623, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 70060, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853) and two fungi (Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and Aspergillus niger ATCC 16404) at eight different concentrations (200 mg/ml, 100 mg/ml, 50 mg/ml, 25 mg/ml, 12. 5 mg/ml, 6 mg/ml, 3 mg/ml and 1 mg/ml) were determined. While the aqueous extract did not show any antimicrobial activity against seven pathogens, the methanol extract showed activity against three pathogens. The methanol extract of S. persica showed antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus ATCC 10987, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6623 and Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 70060 strains.