THE EFFECT OF GLUCOSE ON Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175 GROWTH BY VARIATION OF CONCENTRATION AND INCUBATION TIME

Streptococcus mutans is one of the main causative agents of dental caries. Glucose has been reported as one of the factors influencing the growth of S. mutans. This study aims to determine the effect of glucose concentration and incubation time on the growth of S. mutans. The glucose concentrations used in this study were 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10%. The incubation times used were 1, 10, and 15 hours. The result showed that glucose concentration significantly affects the growth of S. mutans. Higher glucose level lead to increase bacterial growth, with the highest absorbance observed at 10% glucose after 10 hours of incubation. Specific growth rate (μ) analysis further supports this finding, showing that S. mutans grows more rapidly during the exponential phase (1–10 hours) with increased glucose concentration, while the growth rate stabilizes or declines during the later phase (10–15 hours). This result indicate that both glucose availability and incubation time are critical factors influencing the growth dynamics of S. mutans.