A comprehensive study into the impact of a chitosan mouthwash upon oral microorganism's biofilm formation in vitro

Modern dentistry emphasizes the importance of dental plaque control to improve oral health. To that end the development of oral care formulations has been geared toward the incorporation of antiplaque agents that may play a crucial role in oral health maintenance. In later years the research into antiplaque agents has led to the discovery of compounds with significant capability to affect biofilm formation. Among these compounds was chitosan, a polysaccharide which showed great ability to interfere with Streptococcus mutans biofilm formation. As such the aim of this work was to incorporate chitosan into a mouthwash matrix and assess its effect upon biofilm formation of oral microorganisms. This assessment was performed via study of the impact the mouthwash upon microbial adherence, biofilm formation and mature biofilms. Additionally, the action of the chitosan mouthwash was compared with two commercially available mouthwashes. The results here obtained show that only the chitosan containing mouthwash was capable of interfering with all microorganisms' adherence, biofilm formation and mature biofilms while at the same time showing vastly superior activity than both commercial mouthwashes assayed. As such a chitosan mouthwash shows great potential as a natural and efficient alternative to traditional mouthwashes.

Invited review: physiological properties of bioactive peptides obtained from whey proteins

Processing of whey proteins yields several bioactive peptides that can trigger physiological effects in the human body: on the nervous system via their opiate and ileum-contracting activities; on the cardiovascular system via their antithrombotic and antihypertensive activities; on the immune system via their antimicrobial and antiviral activities; and on the nutrition system via their digestibility and hypocholesterolemic effects. The specific physiological effects, as well the mechanisms by which they are achieved and the stabilities of the peptides obtained from various whey fractions during their gastrointestinal route, are specifically discussed in this review.