Benefits of Betel Leaves Toothpaste for Oral Health

Syeifira Salsabila
Drs. Erfan, M.Pd
syeifirasalsabilasisi@yahoo.com

INTRODUCTION
a. Opening
It is often said that the periodontal disease is in people was 96.58% and one of the
periodontal disease arising due to plaque is gingivitis. If plaque is not cleaned regularly, it
can cause tooth cavities (caries) or periodontal problems (eg gingivitis). Efforts are
needed to prevent gingivitis, for example by brushing your teeth with the right toothpaste.
In this day and age many outstanding toothpaste contains natural ingredients, one of
which is extract of betel leaves. The following explanation takes a look at how
advantageous betel leaves in various forms for human oral health.
b. Introducing points
In Southeast Asia, Piper betle L. (betel) is one of the plants that has been linked in
caries control, periodontal disease and halitosis control. The betel leaf extract showed
antibacterial activity against Myitious streptococcus, Streptococcus sanguis and
Actinomyces viscosus, some other bacterial colonies of dental plaque. Betel leaf are
known to have antibacterial effects on some types of bacteria and one of them is
Streptococcus mutans. Betel leaf contains essential oils where the main component of
essential oil is phenol and its derivative compounds are kavikol which has a bactericidal
power five times stronger than phenol. The presence of phenol which is a toxic compound
resulted in the three-dimensional structure of bacteria disrupted and open into a random
structure. This causes the denatured protein and biological activity to be damaged so that
the growth of streptococcus mutans becomes suspended.

THEORY
According to Siswandono and Bambang, phenol derivatives in betel leaves interact with
bacterial cells through an absorption process involving hydrogen bonding. At a certain
concentration of protein complexes form phenol into bacterial cells and cause coagulation of
membrane proteins so membrane bacterial cells lysis, but it can also cause the emergence of
leakage of essential cell constituents so that bacterial cells experience death. According to
Robinson saponin compounds are a strong surfactant agent that can reduce surface tension
between cells. Saponins absorbed on the cell surface will cause damage by increasing
membrane permeability, so that the essential ingredients needed by bacteria for life are lost
and can cause cell death. Heyne states that betel leaf contains kavikol which has a
bactericidal power five times stronger than phenol. According to Suwondo et. al, juice,
infusion, water-alcohol extract, hexane extract, chloroform and betel leaf ethanol have
antibacterial activity against gingivitis bacteria and plaque-forming bacteria (Streptococcus
mutans). According to research Dea and Pratiwi, toothpaste containing essential oil betel leaf
showed antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans at a concentration of 0.1%. Some
evidence indicates that betel leaf has the ability to increase the body's immune such as anti-
cancer and anti-bacterial. The major components of betel leaf also show the effect of
antiseptic, bactericidal, and antioxidant in betel leaf.

DISCUSSION
Based on the reseach findings, toothpaste containing betel leaves extract proves the
antibacterial power possessed by betel leaves. The antibacterial compounds of these
toothpastes is thought to be capable of reducing plaque on tooth surfaces and also reducing
gingivitis. This proves some previous research that examined about betel leaves extract, one
of which is research which shows the existence of antibacterial activity against Streptococcus
mutans which is one of bacteria in dental plaque. In addition, the compounds contained in the
volatile oil of betel leaf is phenol and kavikol derived compounds are toxic compounds that
result in the structure of three dimensional bacteria proteins are disrupted and open into a
random structure. This causes the denatured protein and biological activity to be damaged so
that the growth of Streptococcus mutans becomes interrupted.
Test showed that there was a significant difference between toothpaste that did not
contain herbs and toothpaste with additional herbs in reducing plaque accumulation. This
shows that toothpaste with the addition of herbal betel leaves with lime is more effective in
reducing plaque accumulation. The decrease of plaque accumulation by toothpaste with
additional herbs is also influenced by the content of betel leaf and lemon that can inhibit
bacterial growth in early plaque formation especially bacteria streptococcus and
stapylococcus.
 The content that is in toothpaste with the addition of herb one of them is betel leaf (Piper
betle L). Betel leaf contains essential oils in which the main component consists of phenol
and its derivatives such as kavikol, kavibetol, carvacrol, eugenol, and allilpyrocatechol. In
addition to essential oils, betel leaves also contain carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic
acid, vitamin C, tannins, sugars, starches, and amino acids. The essential oil of betel leaf is
known to have antibacterial power, this is due to the presence of phenol compounds and
derivatives that can change the protein properties of bacterial cells.

CONCLUSION
From the explanation above, it is concluded that piper betle leaf does have benefit for
human oral health. The leaves have compounds that is antibacterial so they can prevent
microorganism (such as Streptococcus mutans and Staphylococcus aureus) from harming the
human oral health. Those compounds are essential oils, phenol, and the derivates. Piper betle
leaf benefits are preventing tooth cavity process, preventing periodontal disease, and
overcoming halitosis.

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