4. Discussion
The initial screening of the methanol extract ofP.
betleleaves at 500 ppm showed an activity comparable
to 5 ppm of chlorhexidine in both the broth and plate
dilution assays. Partitioning of the methanol extract into
the ether, ethylacetate, aqueous methanol fractions was
done to further identify the active constituents. The
biofilm assay, saliva chip model, and the VSC assays
indicated that all the activity resided in the ether
fraction. The major constituent of the ether fraction
was identified to be APC which represents 80% (w/w) of
the ether fraction. This ether fraction showed an activity
quite comparable to APC in the biofilm assays (both
against anaerobes and pooled saliva) and VSC assays
(using F. nucleatum and pooled saliva samples). The
APC in the saliva chip model for anti-microbial activity,
and the VSC assay using pooled saliva, showed a slight
increase in activity over ether fraction. These results
clearly suggest that the reduction in the VSC production
by the oral anaerobic bacteria examined herein is largely
due to the anti-microbial activity of APC.