Anti-cariogenic properties of a water-soluble extract from cacao.
The addition of a water-soluble extract from cacao-extracted powder (CEPWS) to a cariogenic model food, a white chocolate-like diet that contains 35% sucrose, significantly reduced caries scores in SPF rats infected with Streptococcus sobrinus 6715, compared to control rats fed a white chocolate-like diet. CEPWS markedly inhibited water-insoluble glucan (WIG) synthesis through crude glucosyltransferases (GTFs) from Streptococcus sobrinus B13N in vitro. GTF-inhibitor(s) in CEPWS was prepared through three-step fractionation, and was termed CEPWS-BT, which is a high molecular weight (>10 kDa) heat-stable matrix of sugar, protein, and polyphenol. When the inhibitory effect of CEPWS-BT on glucan synthesis was examined using the purified GTF-I, GTF-T, and GTF-U enzymes from S. sobrinus B13N, significant reduction in GTF-I and GTF-T activity as a result of adding CEPWS-BT at low concentrations was observed. These results suggest that the addition of CEPWS to cariogenic food could be useful in controlling dental caries.
Ito
Kyoko
K
Health & Bioscience Laboratories, Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd., Sakado, Saitama, Japan. kyoto_ito@meiji.co.jp
Nakamura
Yuko
Y
Tokunaga
Takahisa
T
Iijima
Daisuke
D
Fukushima
Kazuo
K
D000818:Animals; D002099:Cacao / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005936:Glucans / Q000378:metabolism*; D005964:Glucosyltransferases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D023421:Models, Animal; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016986:Streptococcus sobrinus / Q000378:metabolism; D013395:Sucrose / Q000378:metabolism
D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D005936:Glucans; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013395:Sucrose; D005964:Glucosyltransferases