Anti-Candida Efficacy of The Natural Products As A Denture Cleanser On Heat-Polymerized Acrylic Resin – An In-Vitro Study

Abstract

Objective: To compare the anti-candidal activity of aloe vera and neem extracts with a sodium perborate-based commercial cleaning tablet on heat-polymerized acrylic resin.

Study Design: In-vitro experimental study

Place and Duration of Study:  International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, from Dec 2024 to June 2025.

Methodology: An in-vitro experimental design was used with heat-polymerized acrylic resin (PMMA) discs treated with aloe vera, neem extracts, and a sodium perborate-based commercial denture cleanser as the positive control.  Candida albicans biofilm formed on the discs, and the  growth was measured by using optical density (OD) readings at a wavelength of 530 nm. Data were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 using t-tests and ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc to evaluate anti-candidal effectiveness and time effects. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: There were significant differences were observed in anti-candidal activity between the positive control and neem extract (p value< 0.001), as well as between the positive control and Aloe vera (pvalue = 0.002). Moreover, a statistically significant difference among all tested groups (p value< 0.001) was noted, with Candida inhibition percentage values following the order: positive control > Aloe vera > neem. However, no significant time-dependent differences in inhibition effectiveness were observed across the 30-minute, 2-hour, 4-hour, and 6-hour intervals (p value= 0.247).

Conclusion: Under laboratory conditions, aloe vera and neem extracts exhibited anti-candidal potential at the concentration of 0.1 mg/ml, and could serve as affordable, non-toxic alternatives to traditional denture cleansers.