EVALUATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIAL OF Acacia nilotica (KIKAR) AGAINST ORAL PATHOGENS ASSOCIATED WITH CARIES AND PERIODONTITIS

A Healthy mouth is a exclusive and invaluable asset. It plays an important role in overall health and quality of life. It may be considered as a basic human right (Sgan-Cohen et al., 2013). Oral health is often affected by numerous oral infections mostly periodontitis and dental decay, and rarely by oral cancer, lesions of HIV, orofacial pain and clefts (Jin et al., 2016). It is now acknowledged that oral diseases are global epidemic and a leading public health complication (Beaglehole and Bonita, 2009). Biofilm is composed of bacterial colonies encased in a matrix. It can grow on living and non living surfaces, ranging from a wooden plankto various human tissues (Huang et al., 2011). Dental plaque is one of the most studied forms/type of bacterial biofilm which is also called oral biofilm. Eradication of bacterial plaque biofilms is still a challenge for pharmaceutical industry and the medical field. The oral microbiota is considered to be complex and very diverse consisting of upto 700 different species(Vasudevan,2017). Oral cavity has a dynamic environment which enhances the growth of bacterial species by providing a warm and humid environment as well as neutral pH (Marsh et al., 2011). Data from numerous clinical studies suggests that bacterial community within the oral cavity is an important etiologic factor for two main oral infections i.e; caries and periodontitis (Nishihara and Koseki, 2004). Tooth decay is a chronic process which progresses gradually in most of the cases (Selwitzet al.,2007). It is a common disease among the children globally (Kim et al., 2017). Globally around 36 percent of the total population, which is estimated to be around 2.43 billion has dental caries in the secondary dentition. In about 620 million people or 9 percent of the population, it affects the deciduous dentition (Yadav and Prakash, 2016). Dental caries, is a multifaceted pathological process, and various environmental, microbial, genetic, behavioral and immunological factors are responsible for its onset and progression (Selwitzet al., 2007). Endogenous bacteria residing in the dental biofilm, i.e. dental plaque, ferment dietary carbohydrates and produce acidic by-products as a result of the metabolic process. The acids cause the pH in plaque to drop below a critical level, resulting in the demineralisation of tooth substance (Featherstone, 2004). Mutans streptococci are considered major pathogens in the initiation of caries due to their acidogenic and aciduric properties and their ability to adhere to the surface of tooth and coaggregate other bacteria (Thenisch et al., 2006). The global burden of periodontal disease is distressing about 743 million people internationally and is considered as a major cause of tooth loss in the elderly (Lang et al., 2009). Gingival inflammation, a prerequisite for the onset of periodontitis, is also related to tooth mobility and tooth loss (Woelberet al., 2016). Periodontal diseases are mixed flora Pak. J. Agri. Sci., Vol. 54(2), 423-430; 2017 ISSN (Print) 0552-9034, ISSN (Online) 2076-0906 DOI: 10.21162/PAKJAS/17.6385 http: //www.pakjas. com.pk