The bacterium Streptococcus mutans causes dental caries (tooth decay)-the most common oral infectious disease in humans. Maybe common but the consequences cost the American public some $40 billion per year to treat.

Dental caries results from the interaction of specific bacteria with constituents of the diet on a susceptible tooth surface.

Dental plaque accumulation is the first clinical evidence of this interaction; dental plaque is a biofilm which is comprised of a population of bacteria growing on the tooth surface enmeshed in a polysaccharide matrix.

Acid can be formed rapidly by acidogenic bacteria, such as Streptococcus mutans, within the matrix, and its persistence results in dissolution of the tooth.

However, scientists have discovered that cranberry contains several antioxidants (flavonoids) (e.g., quercetin and myricetin), phenolic acids (benzoic acid), anthocyanins, condensed tannins (among others) that show the ability to counteract the damaging effects of the bacterium Streptococcus mutans.

Many of these substances as shown in the research can:
1) inhibit enzymes associated with the formation of the plaque polysaccharide matrix

2) block the adherence of bacteria to surfaces

3) prevent acid formation

4) reduce acid tolerance of cariogenic organisms.

And so the next step in research is identifying the specific active constituents in cranberries that could be useful as anti-caries or anti-plaque agents.

Source: EurekAlert.