title: [Study on the mechanism of erythritol effecting on Streptococcus mutans].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of erythritol on cell wall structure of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and explore its potential mechanism.
  
  
  METHODS
  Enzyme activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in bacterial solution were detected under respective condition of sucrose and erythritol. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to investigate the change of S. mutans' cell wall under the condition of sucrose and erythritol.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Enzyme activities of LDH in erythritol culture medium were different from that in sucrose, but the difference was slight. SEM observation showed the integrity of cell wall was not destroyed and no content leaked out.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It's suggested that erythritol has an antibacterial effect on S. mutans through no affecting on the normal structure of the cell wall of S. mutans.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Pediatric Dentistry, Stomatology Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Jiali
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D004896:Erythritol; D013295:Streptococcus mutans
chemical_list: D004896:Erythritol