# Study of the Antimicrobial Effect of an Ethanolic Extract of Propolis in Periodantal Disease
## 4 Discussion  
The oral cavity is rich in microbiota, and the overgrowth of bacteria can cause many pathologies. Several studies have shown that propolisis can limit the growth of bacteria and pathogens responsible for periodontitis due to its antibacterial properties [23]. Propolis solution has a selectively weaker cytotoxic effect on human gingival fibroblasts than chlorhexidine. Additionally, mouthwashes containing propolisis have been shown to be effective in healing surgical wounds, which facilitates the use of propolisis in mouthwash solutions [24]. Propolis solution can also be used to disinfect toothbrushes [25]. The 3% ethanolic extract of propolisis toothpaste was shown to be more effective than commercial toothpaste against periodontitis in a group of patients [26]. Propolis extracts also help treat halitosis, a condition in which patients experiences unpleasant breath predominantly due to poor oral hygiene. Propolis toothpaste or mouthwash is used to control the growth of bacterial plaques and pathogenic microbiota that cause gingivitis and periodontitis as a natural remedy [23]. The results of the current study show significant bactericidal action of Spanish propolisis extract on _P. gingivalis_ and _T. forysythenisis_ in bacterial counts one month after periodontal therapy. Regarding the clinical results, in the monthly review, we found a reduction in the average [PERSON] of the bags at the 46.83% probing of the test compared to 36.42% in the control group. A significant decrease in bleeding in 90% of the test compared to 75% in the control was also shown. The [PERSON] of bleeding is an indicator of periodontal stability [27]. These results agree with [PERSON] [28] and [PERSON] et al. [29] reporting an improvement in biological and clinical parameters in periodontal tissues and corroborate those of [PERSON] and [PERSON] [13], reporting that _P. gingivalis_ bacteria at different concentrations were eliminated with the use of propolisis in a dose-dependent manner, they suggested that propolisis administration in the oral cavity, is an agent with selectivity action against _P. gingivalis_ in the periodontal pockets while maintaining the homeostatic benefit produced by oral commensal bacteria. [PERSON] et al. [30] in a double-blind controlled clinical trial in 24 patients with chronic periodontitis investigated topical administration of propolisis, curry leaf and minocycline in periodontal pockets, they concluded that propolisis treatment significantly improved both PPD and CAL and reduced _P. gingivalis_ burden in the gingival crevicular fluid. We agree with them although our results were better in the propolisis group, although they were not significant with respect to PPD and CAL, fact that can be because the application time was longer than the used in the current study (three times a day for 3 months). [PERSON] et al. [31] evaluated the efficacy of an antioxidant based formula containing propolisis and herbs as an adjuvant therapy to standard non-surgical periodontal treatment when compared to the domiciliary use of chlorhexidine-based formula[PERSON] Propolis showed better results, although there was no significant difference between the groups. Figure 4: Percentage of bacterial reduction in both groups after one month of the intervention. (* \(p\) < 0.05). Additionally, Propolis has been shown to exhibit good antimicrobial activity against a wide range of oral bacteria and inhibit the adherence to glass [32]. It was also shown to be a potent inhibitor of water-soluble glucan synthesis. [PERSON] et al. [33] also investigated the activity of propolis against several microorganisms. Ethanol extracts of four samples of propolis collected from different geographical regions prevented the appearance of visible growth of microorganisms, due to the presence of many flavonoids.