An Evaluation of the Antibacterial Effects of Rue and Sage Extracts

Aims: To investigate the antimicrobial effect of different concentrations of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Sage and Rue (0.5%, 0.05%, 0.005%) on bacterial samples. They were isolated from root canal system in vitro, and the results were compared with that of chlorhexidine gluconate (0.2%) as a positive control and normal saline as a negative control. Materials and Methods: Eighteen hours cultured bacterial samples of the root canal were used. To each 4ml of Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHI), 0.1 ml of both bacterial sample and the examined solution Sage, Rue and chlorhexidine were added. Cultures were incubated at 37°C for 48 hours. The absorbance values of the cultures were determined by the turbidity method using spectrophotometer at (550 nm). Results: The results showed that both ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Sage and Rue have antibacterial effects in all concentrations with a significant variance compared with chlorhexidine against root canal microorganisms, while normal saline failed to show any antimicrobial activity. The results also showed that the ethanolic extracts of both plants have a higher antibacterial activity than the aqueous extracts. Conclusions: Rue and Sage demonstrated antibacterial effects on the root canal microorganisms (both aerobic and anaerobic) when compared with chlorhexidine.