Results
Continuing our attempt to find new plant extracts with potential inhibition activity against oral microorganisms, sixteen extracts from various genus were selected to be screened. The plants belonged to three families Lamiaceae, Cistaceae and Asteraceae and are commonly encountered in the Mediterranean region. However, their antimicrobial activity against typical oral pathogenic bacteria hasn’t been studied before. Following the extraction of the plant samples with ethyl acetate a rapid and accurate analytical method was developed, aiming to the detection of the major active compounds in the extracts. HPTLC analysis of the ethyl acetate extracts revealed that the most of the plants have a rich chemical content. Plants belonging to the Lamiaceae family contain a wide range of bioactive compounds and are well known for their antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant properties. They are among the most actively used in phytotherapy and are considered important for the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. Lavandula stoechas ,Mentha aquatica , Mentha longifolia , Origanum vulgare , Phlomis cretica , Rosmarinus officinalis ,Salvia sclarea , Satureja parnassica , Satureja thymbra , Sideritis euboea , Sideritis syriaca ,Stachys spinosa and Thymus longicaulis are well studied plants for their biological properties. Visualization of the plates at 254 nm and 366 nm revealed the presence of phenolic compounds, like the phenolic acid caffeic acid, and mainly flavonoid aglycones, such as apigenin and luteolin. The presence of rosmarinic acid was evident inLavandula , Mentha , Origanum , Rosmarinus ,Salvia and Thymus . Achillea sp. is a genus of the well known medicinal plant family of Asteraceae and comprises numerous species and wild-growing plants. A. taygetea is endemic at the mountains Taygetos and Parnon (south Peloponnese). The plant was also extracted and its analysis showed that it contains various flavonoids, derivatives of apigenin and luteolin, and phenolic acids. Cistus creticus and Cistus monspeliensis are medicinal plants that belong to the Cistaceae family, with a well-established position in traditional medicine of the Mediterranean basin. Similarly, several secondary metabolites flavonoids and phenolic acids were identified in the extracts as major components (see supplementary Fig. 1).