INHIBITORY TEST OF AJWA DATE SEED EXTRACT ( PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA LINN ) ON THE GROWTH OF STREPTOCOCCUS MUTANS BACTERIA

Abstract

BACKGROUND : A common issue among users of dentures is the inadequate cleaning and maintenance of the dentures, which leads to plaque buildup and an increase in the growth of Streptococcus mutans bacteria on the dentures. The use of herbal materials in the field of dentistry has been widely researched. One of them is the Ajwa date fruit (Phoenix Dactylifera Linn), which is already known to contain various essential nutrients. In addition to being consumed, Ajwa date seeds can also be utilized as a medicinal ingredient due to their antibacterial and antifungal properties. METHOD : The type of research conducted is a experimental laboratory with a Posttest Only Design. The data from this research is processed and then analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test method (P-Value > 0.05). RESULTS & DISCUSSION : The results of the normality test showed that the p-value was greater than 0.05 for the treatments at concentrations of 0.4%, 0.8%, 1.6%, 25%, and 50%, indicating a normal distribution. In contrast, the treatments at concentrations of 3.25%, 6.5%, and 12.5% showed p-values less than 0.05, indicating that these concentrations did not have a normal distribution. The results of the homogeneity test showed a p-value of 0.000, which is less than 0.05 (p-value < 0.05), indicating that the data is not homogeneous; therefore, the comparison test used was the Kruskal Wallis test. CONCLUSION : The extract of Ajwa date seeds at a concentration of 0.4% has an inhibition power of 13.91 mm, and at a concentration of 50%, it has an inhibition power of 15.84 mm against the growth of Streptococcus mutans bacteria.