Anticariogenic effects of unripe apple extract

摘要

Anticariogenic activity of the unripe apple extract was studied by observing the inhibitory effects on GTase(glucosyltransferase) activity, cell adherence and acid production of Streptococcus mutans. Among the four S. mutans strains, S. mutans MT 8148 had the highest water-insoluble glucan forming activity. (+)-Catechin and tannic acid, the major components of the unripe apple polyphenols inhibited GTase activity by 60 percent at 1 mg/ml and 90 percent at 5 mg/ml. Tannic acid and unripe apple extract inhibited adherence ability of S. mutans by 50 percent and 30 percent, respectively. But the acid production of S. mutans was not influenced by the polyphenols. Disc diffusion test showed that the polyphenols have no antimicrobial activity against S. mutans, which indicates that the inhibition of GTase activity and cell adherence were not resulted from the cell growth inhibition. Our results convinced the possible application of the unripe apple extract as the anticariogenic food additives.