Antioxidant Activities of Cuminum cyminum Extracts and Their Antibacterial Effects against Some Dental Caries Pathogens

The seeds of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) are widely used as the spice for their distinctive aroma, they are also commonly used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of diseases.

The present study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activities of cumin extracts and their antimicrobial effects against six oral pathogens isolated from dental caries and supragingival plaque. The extracts were obtained by maceration with acetone, ethanol and methanol at 70% (v/v).

The greatest content of polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins, was obtained with acetone (42±3.46 mg GAE/g DW), (24.49±1.24 mg EQ/g DW) and (34.95±8.71 mg EC/g DW) respectively. HPLC analysis performed to determine acetonic extract components revealed the presence of p-coumaric acid, diosmin as the most abundant compounds and several apigenins. Antioxidant activity of cumin extracts showed the greatest activity with the acetonic extract (940±42 µg/mL) followed very closely by the ethanolic extract (960±50 µg/mL). The agar well diffusion method has shown that all the extracts have an antimicrobial power against all the Gram+strains. The minimum inhibitory concentration values recorded by the studied extracts vary from 12.5 to 200 mg/mL. These findings suggest that cumin seed extracts might be effective as antibacterial agent against oral pathogens.