Antimicrobial activity of n-6, n-7 and n-9 fatty acids and their esters for oral microorganisms.
OBJECTIVE
This study is to assess the antibacterial activity of omega-6, -7, -9 (n-6, n-7, n-9) fatty acids against various oral microorganisms.


METHODS
The n-6, n-7, n-9 fatty acids, such as gamma-linoleic acid (GLA), linoleic acid (LA), arachidonic acid (ARA), palmitoleic acid (PA), and oleic acid (OA), their fatty acid ethyl esters, GLA-EE, LA-EE, ARA-EE, PA-EE, OA-EE, and their fatty acid methyl esters, GLA-ME, LA-ME, ARA-ME, PA-ME, OA-ME, were investigated for antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens Streptococcus mutans, Candida albicans, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Various concentrations of the fatty acids, their methyl and ethyl esters were tested against various oral pathogens in 96-well plates and blood-agar plate. The plates were incubated anaerobically or aerobically at 37 degrees C for 48h, and the colony forming units (CFU) were determined.


RESULTS
The data demonstrated that select n-6, n-7, n-9 fatty acids and their esters exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against these oral microorganisms, demonstrating some specificity for individual microbial species.


CONCLUSIONS
The potential use or the combinations of the n-6, n-7, n-9 fatty acids and/or their esters, provided in a local delivery vehicle to infected sites in the oral cavity, could be considered as an additional therapeutic approach to improving oral health.
Huang
Chifu B
CB
Center for Oral Health Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40503, United States. chuan2@uky.edu
George
Brian
B
Ebersole
Jeffery L
JL
D000332:Aerobiosis; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / Q000187:drug effects; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004952:Esters; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000494:pharmacology*; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016967:Fusobacterium nucleatum / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D019301:Oleic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000187:drug effects; D054773:Streptococcus gordonii / Q000187:drug effects; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000187:drug effects; D013298:Streptococcus sanguis / Q000187:drug effects; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D004952:Esters; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; C008757:palmitoleic acid; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D019301:Oleic Acid; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid; D019787:Linoleic Acid