A PRELIMINARY COMPARATIVE STUDY OF BACTERIAL COLONIES ISOLATED FROM THE ORAL CAVITY OF A BETEL QUID CHEWER AND A NON-CHEWER BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT WITH NATURAL PRODUCTS

The present study aims at a preliminary investigation of antibacterial properties of Neem, Charcoal and husk of betel nut in case of betel quid chewers and non-chewers and characterization of oral bacteria before and after treatment with raw neem, charcoal and husk of betel nut. Buccal swab samples were collected from oral cavities of chewer and non-chewer using sterile cotton swabs and streaked on sterile nutrient agar plates. The plates were kept for overnight incubation and bacterial colonies were observed. Colony morphology was studied followed by Gram staining. More bacterial colonies were obtained in case of chewer as compared to that of non- chewer. Gram-positive cocci (GPC), few gram-positive bacilli (GPB) and gram-negative cocci (GNC) were observed. After treatment with Neem significant reduction in GPC was observed. Neem showed the highest reduction in bacterial colonies followed by Charcoal and husk of betel nut.