Vol. 2, Issue 3 (2013)

Author(s):
Cabral-Romero Claudio, Martínez-Sanmiguel Juan José, Reséndez-Pérez Diana, Flores-González María del Socorro, Hernandez-Delgadillo Rene

Abstract:
The first stage to develop periodontal disease and caries is to get a biofilm of oral bacteria. This oral biofilm presents similitude with bronchial mucus, therefore in theory we can use mucolytic agents to eradicate oral biofilm. Ambroxol is a mucolytic agent employed to eradicate this kind of mucus in patients with cystic fibrosis. However, there are no reports about the capability of ambroxol against oral bacteria. The aim of this study was determine the antimicrobial and antibiofilm effectiveness of ambroxol against oral bacteria. The bactericidal activity of ambroxol was determined by using the cell viability MTT assay. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of ambroxol to interfere with oral bacteria growth was detected. At same time, the anti-biofilm activity of ambroxol was explored by fluorescence microscopy. Within our results, ambroxol showed an important bactericidal activity since 4 mg/ml as final concentration. The MIC estimated for ambroxol was 1 mg/ml against oral bacteria. At this concentration, ambroxol was capable to inhibit the oral biofilm formation added in the inoculation time. Also, it was effective to remove a mature oral biofilm. As conclusion, ambroxol is a good therapeutic alternative for prevent or treatment of oral diseases.