Antibacterial and cytotoxic evaluation of Jatropha dioica extract for periodontal coadjutant treatment

Jatropha dioica has shown promising pharmacological properties in dentistry. This plant has shown antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens. Therefore, antibacterial activity combined with cytotoxicity needs to be further investigated. The present study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of J. dioica extract against periodontal pathogens such as Tannerella forsythia and Filifactor alocis , as well as its cytotoxic effects on human primary fibroblasts (HGF). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using 5, 15, 30, and 300 μg/ml extract concentrations. For the cytotoxicity assays, HGF were incubated with the same extract concentrations for 1, 3, 5, and 7 days, and cell viability was assessed using the resazurin assay. The MIC for T. forsythia was found to be 5 μg/ml, with the highest inhibition at 80% ( p < 0.01), compared to the positive control. And at the concentrations 15 and 30 μg/ml, bacterial viability decreased higher than 60%. For F. alocis , the highest inhibition was also recorded at the lowest dosage (5 μg/ml), resulting in 58% microbial inhibition. Cytotoxicity assays indicated that cell viability was not significantly affected after 1, 3, 5, and 7 days of culture. The effects were observed to be dose-dependent, with a slight increase in viability at 5 μg/ml (9.29%) and a decrease at the highest dosage of 300 μg/ml (11.7%) compared to the control after 7 days of culture. J. dioica extract exhibited antibacterial activity against the evaluated periodontal pathogens with minimal cytotoxic effects on gingival fibroblasts, suggesting its potential application in periodontal therapy.