Abstract Background Prosopis africana (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. is traditionally used in folk medicine in Burkina Faso for oral diseases. Leaves and stems are used in rural areas to treat dental caries, and the bark is used to treat green diarrhea in infants. In the context of a better understanding of the herbal drug and its bioactivity or toxicity, the present study deals with the chemical profiling of the different botanical parts used in phytomedicine. The impact of herbal medicine on various factors contributing to oral infections and caries, and specifically as anti-biofilm and anti-quorum sensing properties has also been little investigated. Methods The anti-biofilm effect of methanolic extracts of leaves and stems of P. africana was evaluated on Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as the anti-quorum sensing effect on Chromobacterium CV026 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The cytotoxicity of the leaves and stems extracts was also evaluated. The chemical composition of the extracts was characterized by UPLC-UV/DAD-MS2/ESI-QTOF analysis. Results The extracts (100µg/ml), without affecting cells viability, significantly reduced the biofilm formation of S. mutans with the best inhibition rates of 56.7% and 47.6% for stem and leaf extracts respectively. Inhibition rates of 49.03%, 40.2%, and 46.7% were obtained for pyocyanin, elastase, and rhamnolipids respectively, with leaf extracts. No cytotoxic effect on gingival cells was observed for stem extract. UPLC-UV-MS2 analysis identified sixteen compounds among which mainly polyphenols and alkaloids. They could be related to the activities. Conclusion The present study provides evidence of efficacy and basic scientific justification for the use of P. africana in the treatment of dental caries.
Bancé et al. (Wed,) studied this question.