Inhibitory effect of lemongrass extract (Cymbopogon citratus) in supragingival plaque bacterial growth for gingivitis patient: A research study

Aim: Gingivitis is a type of periodontal disease characterized by the inflammation of the gingival. Generally, gingivitis therapy is done with scaling and root planning and antibiotic medications. However, inappropriate use of antibiotic may lead to antibiotic resistance. An alternative therapy needs to be developed; lemongrass extract (Cymbopogon citratus) has an inhibitory effect on supragingival plaque bacterial growth in gingivitis patients. Materials and Methods: The lemongrass was extracted using the maceration procedure. Eight tubes containing lemongrass extract in different concentration were taken. The other two tubes contain supragingival plaque bacteria suspension as a positive control and brain heart infusion broth media as a negative control. Ten tube samples were tested for its inhibitory effect on the growth of supragingival plaque bacteria and measured using spectrophotometry in the wavelength of 570 nm. The absorbance percentage of a spectrophotometer is used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The data were analyzed using SPSS for normality test (Shapiro-Wilk test), homogeneity test (Levene's test), and assumption one-way Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) (Welch test) that continued with post hoc test (Games-Howell test). Results: The absorbance percentage of supragingival plaque bacterial colonies in lemongrass plant extract at concentrations of 100%, 50%, 25%, 12.5%, 6.25%, 3.12%, 1.56%, and 0.78% was 78.8%, 74.6%, 70.5%, 68.8%, 45.5%, 27.3%, 16.1%, and 5.1% of the positive control, respectively. The significance of the statistical test results was of 0.00 (P 0.05; df = 3; confidence interval 95%). Conclusions: The growth of supragingival plaque bacteria in gingivitis patients is inhibited by extracts of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), with a MIC of 12.5% with 68.8% inhibition.