Patent ID: 8852584

Claim:
A bactericide comprising: a bacterial cell wall lytic enzyme having selectivity to a cariogenic bacterium; and a surfactant, wherein: the cell wall lytic enzyme is automutanolysin, the automutanolysin comprises the full-length amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, the cariogenic bacterium is Streptococcus mutans or Streptococcus sobrinus, the surfactant is saccharose stearate ester or saccharose palmitate ester, and is present in the bactericide at a concentration of not lower than 0.025%, the saccharose stearate ester has an HLB value of 15 and comprises: about 70% of stearic acid as a bonded fatty acid, and an ester composition consisting of about 70% of monoester and about 30% of di-, tri-, and/or polyester, and the saccharose palmitate ester has an HLB value of 16 and comprises: about 80% of palmitic acid as a bonded fatty acid, and an ester composition consisting of about 80% of monoester and about 20% of di-, tri-, and/or polyester.