Herbal toothpaste found to have inhibitory activity on salivary glucose while increasing salivary pH

Herbal toothpaste can reduce salivary levels of glucose and improve pH levels of saliva, according to researchers from Jawahar Medical Foundation’s Annasaheb Chudaman Patil Memorial Dental College (ACPM Dental College). This can be beneficial for people with increased dental caries and those with diabetes, the team reported in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.

• The researchers took on the study as scientific literature on herbal toothpaste was scarce, particularly those that discussed its effects on saliva and its constituents.
• To understand this, the team recruited 45 individuals to participate in the clinical trials. The participants, aged between 19 to 21 years, were randomly divided into three groups.
• Each group was then given a different herbal toothpaste. They were then asked to brush their teeth for three minutes. Participants were to brush twice daily for four weeks.
• Each week, saliva samples were collected before and after brushing to measure for salivary glucose and pH levels.
• Based on the results, all three herbal toothpaste brands reduced the overall levels of salivary glucose after brushing. Moreover, the pH levels after brushing were reduced as well.

Researchers deduced that herbal toothpaste could significantly inhibit glucose activity in the saliva and improve its pH level.

Find the full study at this link.

Journal Reference:

Khairnar MR, Dodamani AS, Karibasappa G, Naik RG, Deshmukh MA. EFFICACY OF HERBAL TOOTHPASTES ON SALIVARY PH AND SALIVARY GLUCOSE – A PRELIMINARY STUDY. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. January—March 2017;8(1):3–6. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaim.2016.12.004