Prevalence and Dentifrice resistance of Streptococcus mutans isolated from human oral cavity and their eradication by formulation of new toothpaste in Hebron Governorate/ Palestine
Supervisor Name
Sharaf Al-Tardeh
Supervisor Email
sharaft@ppu.edu
University
Applied Biology, Palestine Polytechnic University
Research field
Agricultural Science
Bio
Dr Sharaf Al-Tardeh, is the head of Department of Applied achemistry and Biology, the coordinator of applied biology program at Palestine polytechnic university (PPU) (since 2017) and chairman of Palestinian Society for Biological Sciences (PSBS) (since 2020). He has a PhD in plant Physiology and anatomy from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GREECE (2003- 2008). He has MSc. in Food Quality Management from Mediterranean.Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAIC), A constitute Institute of the International Center of Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) (200-2002) and BSc. Biological Sciences/ Yarmouk University, Jordan (1996-2000). Al-Tardeh is a member of renewable energy & environment research unit (REERU) / (PPU) (since 2017), member of the national team to restore research priorities for the water, environment and agriculture sectors, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Palestine (since 2022). He has published numerous publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and conferences. He was the Chairman of the Annual Conference of Palestinian Society for Biological sciences (4-5th, 2021). He is/was a supervisor and member of examination committees of more than 60 undergraduate students; one master student, four PhD student and one Post doc. Dr Al-Tardeh participated in many national and international workshops, visits and scientific activities. He holds many funded research projects i.e., Palestinian German Ccooperation (PALGER) program, Germany Palestinian Scientific bridge (GPSB), EUPI Research Grants, and Palestinian American Research Center (PARC). He has taught different courses for undergraduates. His research interests include but are not limited to plant stress physiology, anatomy and nutrition, soil amendments, wastewater treatment, Rehabilitation of the quarries and environmental pollutions.
The main causative agent for tooth decay is the Streptococcus spp. mainly Streptococcus mutans. The mood of human feed, habits and many drinks and smoke are also taking part in tooth decay. To protect tooth from decay, one should use brush and dentifrices three times daily beside mouthwashes. In addition, natural extract from medicinal plant(s) can be used to eliminate bacterial load in mouth. Tooth infection is a transmissible disease leads to destruction of hard dental tissues. Microbes do fermentation to the remained food carbohydrates on tooth resulting in acid production. The acid then, demineralizes the tooth enamel casing dental plague. The accumulation and development of dental plague is dependent on the result of the interactions between the adhesiveness of plague to the tooth surface and physical sheer forces that helps to remove or dislodge the dental plague. Toothpaste and brushes are among the physical forces that remove plague. Active agents such as surfactants, antibacterial agents, baking soda, peroxide, metal sacks herbal and natural extracts and chloride dioxide are incorporated into treatment forms. When these substances are added to oral products, they kill microorganisms by disrupting their cell walls and inhibiting their enzymatic activity. Dentifrices need to contain various antimicrobial agents in order to reduce, control and prevent different kinds of dental diseases. Many dentifrices claim to have antimicrobial properties but very little research has been conducted to investigate those claims. Based on these facts, the present study aimed at investigating the antibacterial efficacy of different toothpaste against some bacterial isolates from the mouth and postulate e new toothpaste enriched with Palestinian medicinal plant extract that is active against tooth infection. To achieve these aims, cotton swape samples will collect from people’s months from different regions in Hebron governorates and from different age categories. The bacterial population will be isolated and identified. Then, the collected toothpastes will be diluted and tested for their efficacy against the isolated bacteria. Beside that, selected medicinal plant extract will be tested too. The expected output is to determine the best choice(s) of the tooth pastes. In addition, to propose a good approach for the use the best plant extracts from medicinal plant(s) native to Palestine to formulate a new and more protective toothpaste against oral microorganisms. The project is designed for students with strong background in applied biology and microbiology. The candidate must be very good in English, plant bioactivity and microbiology. Contacts: Dr. Sharaf Al-Tardeh, PPU
