AN IN VITRO STUDY ON THE ANTIMICROBIAL EFFECT OF PACHYMIC ACID ON E. FAECALIS AND CANDIDA ALBICANS WHEN ADDED TO RESIN BASED ROOT CANAL SEALERS

The aim of this study is to evaluate the antibacterial effect of the Resin based sealer, AH Plus with and without the use of pachymic acid on Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans. The objective of this study is to find out whether the pachymic acid, a biopharmacological agent when added to a resin based sealer (AH Plus) may alter the antibacterial property of the root canal sealer. Twenty grams of Pachymic acid powder (Biopurify Phytochemicals Ltd., Sichuan, China) was dissolved in 100 mL distilled water to obtain 20% pachymic acid solution. Two samples were prepared. One sample being the AH Plus sealer only and mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Second sample combining Pachymic acid solution with the AH Plus sealer in 3 concentrations, 30?L, 40?L and 50?L. 6 replica plates containing the BHI agar, was spread with the microbial suspension using a sterile swab. These plates were divided into 2 groups i.e., Group 1 (E. Faecalis), Group 2 (C. Albicans). For the determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) plate dilution method was followed. Brain Heart Infusion Agar was the medium used. The seeded plates were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours and the growth is noted down for the two sealers separately. All the experiments were done in triplicates. The results obtained from this study was done measuring the inhibition zone diameter (IZD) and evaluating the mean value. The results obtained showed that both samples showed zones of inhibition of growth of microbes. AH Plus-Pachymic acid combination showed the highest inhibition zone diameter compared to AH Plus sealer alone. This study also shows that the AH Plus-Pachymic acid inhibition zone diameter increases with increasing concentrations, the highest being at 50?L and least at 30?L.