Quantitative analysis of antibacterial efficacy of herbal irrigants against endodontic microflora - A clinical study

The study aimed to assess the antimicrobial effectiveness of green tea and neem extract compared to sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) against various root canal microorganisms.

Thirty patients with pulpal necrosis were selected, providing 60 samples before and after irrigation. Groups were assigned as follows: Group A: 3% NaOCl (control), Group B: green tea, and Group C: neem extract. Samples were collected before and after irrigation in two phases. Samples were collected maintaining a strict sterile condition and stored in buffer solution at -80°C for bacterial-load measurement through real-time Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Statistical analysis included within-group comparisons using Wilcoxon's test and the paired t-test and inter-group comparisons using the Kruskal-Wallis test with post hoc Dunn's test and one-way analysis of variance with post hoc Tukey's honestly significant difference test (P ≤ 0.05).

While no irrigant achieved complete bacterial eradication, all solutions exhibited significant antimicrobial activity postirrigation. NaOCl yielded the most effective results, with green tea nearly comparable, and neem extract demonstrating the lowest efficacy.

Herbal irrigants, particularly green tea, can serve as effective alternatives to chemical solutions. However, neem extract proved less effective than both green tea and NaOCl, indicating its inferiority in root canal disinfection.