Potential Use of the Flowers of Calendula Officinalis L. (Asteraceae) in the Dentistry

Objectives: The Calendula officinalis is a medicinal plant with a popular use in different locals of the world and reports of its use exist in the Dentistry. Seeking to check the properties pharmacological told in the traditional medicine, a study of the antimicrobial activity of that species was proceeded trying to identify its therapeutic potential in the Dentistry.
Methods: The Calendula officinalis was identified by botanical criteria with exsiccate deposited under n. 6483 in the Ponta Grossa State University Herbarium. The hexanoic (HEX), dichloromethane (DCM), etile acetate (AcOEt), methanoic (MeOH) and ethanoic 85% (EtOH) fractions were obtained from the flowers of this medicinal plant. The profile of sensibility antimicrobial was evaluated front to pathogenic gram-positive and negative microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebisiela pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, using the cavity-plate and cylinder-plate methodologies. The bacterial suspension in saline was standardized by the scale of McFarland and adjusted for 90% of transmittance (λ=530nm), corresponding 10⁶ UFC/mL approximately. The rehearsals were submitted by a period of 18-48 hours (35⁰C) in triplicate using DMSO as negative control and chloramphenicol, ampicillin and penicillin as positive control. The diameters of the inhibition halos were obtained and the average in millimeters (mm) ± SD was calculated and submitted to statistical analysis.
Results: The triterpenes β-sitosterol and stigmasterol, lupeol, β and α-amirin and the faradiol palmitic ester were isolated and identified. The obtained results revealed significant activity to positive gram microorganism. The apolars HEX and DCM fractions presented the better antibacterial activity to gram-positive bacteria =10 – 19.5mm versus it negative controls (p < 0.05). The MeOH extracts showed activity to gram-negative bacteria (K.pneumoniae = 10mm).

Conclusions: The obtained data indicate that the flowers of the Calendula officinalis present an important phytotherapeutics potential in the Dentistry.