INCORPORATION OF ROSEMARY (ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS LINN.) EXTRACT IN AN ENDODONTIC SEALER: ANTIMICROBIAL EVALUATION

Marcela Agne Alves Valones, Jalber Almeida Santos, Thiago Maciel Cavalcanti, Michelly Cauás Queiroz Gatis, Arnaldo França Caldas Júnior*, Eliziane Pereira Costa, Janete Magali de Araújo, Alessandra de Albuquerque Tavares Carvalho

The aim of this study is to evaluate the microbial activity of an endodontic sealer containing rosemary extract in comparison to Sealer 26^®. Agar well diffusion assays were used to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the materials in the presence of the following bacterial strains: S. mutans (ATCC 25175), S. aureus (ATCC 9811) and E. faecalis (ATCC 51299). Bacterial growth inhibition halos were measured. The Mann-Whitney test was used to determine the statistical significance of differences between groups. Mean inhibition halos were 27.1, 26.4 and 38.6 mm for the strains of S. aureus, E. faecalis and S. mutans when the rosemary-based sealer was used and 16.3, 15.8 and 25.5 mm, respectively, when Sealer 26^® was used. Significant differences between sealers were found for each bacterial strain (p < 0.05). The rosemary-based endodontic sealer demonstrated greater antimicrobial efficacy in comparison to Sealer 26^®.