In-vitro and In-silico Analyses of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam effect on the Virulence properties of Streptococcus mutans

According to previous reports, the principal causative agent in the development of dental caries has been Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). The Ziziphus mauritiana Lam (Z. mauritiana Lam) has been found to possess antibacterial characteristics that effectively prevent the growth and generation of S. mutans biofilms. The research aims to evaluate the potential of Z. mauritiana Lam in inhibiting the growth and biofilm formation of S. mutans ECC isolates. Z. mauritiana Lam extracted by evaporation approach. Assessment of S. mutans growth by spectrophotometry (620nm) and inhibition of S. mutans biofilm formation by spectrophotometry (520nm) visualization of biofilm mass with an electric microscope (200x). At all concentrations, Z. mauritiana Lam had excellent growth inhibition of S. mutans against S. mutans at 24 h incubation times 0.04-0.09 (< 300 CFU/mL) and was able to inhibit the biofilm formation of S. mutans with a strong scale of OD 0.1 at 24hours incubation time and the concentration of 25%, the biofilm mass decreased to a relatively small size, the same as the positive control group (CHX). At 50%, 12.5%, and 6.25%, it was seen that the S. mutans biofilm mass experienced a dominant loss. All ligand compounds from Z. mauritiana Lam can potentially inhibit the function of glucosyltransferase S. mutans. The Z. mauritiana Lam can inhibit S. mutans growth and biofilm formation by degrading the biofilm mass of S. mutans and good binding affinity of the glucosyltransferase gene of S. mutans.