Propolis potentially useful in dentistry and oral health management: Study

Propolis is a complex mixture made by bee-released and plant-derived compounds. It is a resinous product that is collected from plants by bees to cover holes and crevices in their hives. In general, raw propolis is composed of around 50% resins, 30% waxes, 10% essential oils, 5% pollen, and 5% of various organic compounds.

Propolis has potent antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and anticancer properties. Propolis has been used therapeutically by humans for centuries, including the treatment of dental caries and mouth infections.

A group of researchers from the United Kingdom conducted a study to analyze the potential use of propolis in general dentistry and oral health management.

The researchers found that:

· Due to its antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative properties, propolis has immense potential in dentistry, oral health management, and medicine.

· Oral healthcare products containing propolis as the active ingredient are commercially available worldwide, sold under various trademarks such as Comvita™ (New Zealand), Grants ™ (Australia), Atomy™ (South Korea), and Propolinse™ (Japan)

· Ikeno et al. demonstrated that propolis inhibits the growth of Streptococcus sobrinus, S. mutans, and Streptococcus cricetus.

· They also found that propolis-enriched drinking water resulted in a 50–60% reduction in the incidence of dental caries in S. sobrinus-infected rats. In addition, two propolis constituents, apigenin and tt-farnesol, significantly reduced smooth-surface caries in S. sobrinus-infected rats

· Flavonoid-free propolis extracts reduced the incidence of both smooth-surface and sulcal-surface caries in S. sobrinus-infected rats.

· It has been suggested that the protective effect of propolis is not only derived from phenolics and flavonoids; other fatty acids such as oleic, palmitic, linoleic, and stearic acid from propolis might also have beneficial properties

Thus, the researchers concluded that propolis is potentially useful in dentistry and oral health management based on available in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo studies, as well as human clinical trials.

Reference:

The use of propolis in dentistry, oral health, and medicine: A review by Zulhendri F wt. al published in the Journal of oral biosciences.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.job.2021.01.001