The antibacterial effect of β-pinene derived from Citrus aurantifolia peel against oral Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175

Introduction: Streptococcus mutans has been known to play a major role in dental caries development. This tooth decay is the most common oral disease affecting people in the world. Hence, discovering the new herbal antibacterial agent seems to become promising yet challenging.  One of herbal antibacterial source is Jeruk Nipis or namely Citrus aurantifolia, as it is believed to contain biological active compounds that may act as antibacterial to kill pathogenic oral microbes. This study was aimed evaluated antibacterial effect  of β-pinene derived from Citrus aurantifolia against oral Streptococcus mutans. Methods: Type of research is quasi experimental research. The essential of C. aurantifolia essential oil was prepared and isolated using the hydro-distillation technique and further isolation of antibacterial compounds was conducted by combination column chromatography using organic solvent, and the structure was determined by infrared (IR), 1D NMR of 1H-, 13C-NMR and DEPT 135° in CDCl3, and UV-Vis spectrometer methods. The antibacterial activity was tested against Streptococcus mutans using the Kirby-Bauer method. Results: 0.75% yield was extracted from the essential oil of Citrus aurantifolia and after purification, an antibacterial compound was identified as β-pinene with the molecular formula C10H16. Furthermore, the Citrus aurantifolia exerted inhibition growth of Streptococcus mutans at concentration of 2000, 1000, and 500 ppm showed reduction in paper disk as much as 13.0, 11.9, and 11.6 mm respectively. Conclusion: Antibacterial effect  of β-pinene derived from Citrus aurantifolia against oral Streptococcus mutans. This is proven that β-pinene derived from Citrus aurantifolia prospective as antibacterial compound that potentially can be used as another herbal antibacterial of choice to manage dental disease associated with Streptococcus mutans infection.