Staphylococcus comprises up to two-thirds of all pathogens in orthopedic implant infections and they are the principal causative agents of two major types of infection affecting bone: septic arthritis and osteomyelitis, which involve the inflammatory destruction of joint and bone. Bacterial adhesion is the first and most important step in implant infection. It is a complex process influenced by environmental factors, bacterial properties, material surface properties and by the presence of serum or tissue proteins. Properties of the substrate, such as chemical composition of the material, surface charge, hydrophobicity, surface roughness and the presence of specific proteins at the surface, are all thought to be important in the initial cell attachment process. The biofilm mode of growth of infecting bacteria on an implant surface protects the organisms from the host immune system and antibiotic therapy. The research for novel therapeutic strategies is incited by the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacte...

Background: Dental caries remains the most prevalent and costly oral infectious disease worldwide, encouraging the search for new and more effective antimicrobials. Therefore, the aim of this work was to study the antimicrobial action of selected phytochemicals (eugenol, citronellol, sabinene hydrate, trans-cinnamaldehyde, terpineol and cinnamic acid) againstStreptococcus mutansin planktonic and biofilm states as well as the cytotoxicity of these compounds.Methods: The antibacterial activity of the selected compounds was evaluated by the determination of the minimal bactericidal concentration. The resazurin assay was used to assess the metabolic activity of sessileS. mutans. The cytotoxicity was determined using a fibroblast cell line.Results: Among the tested phytochemicals, citronellol, cinnamic acid and trans-cinnamaldehyde were the most effective against both planktonic and sessileS. mutans, an effect apparently related to their hydrophobic character. Additionally, these three compounds did not compromise fibroblasts cell viability.Discussion: Citronellol, cinnamic acid and trans-cinnamaldehyde demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity and low cytotoxicity proposing their potential as a novel group of therapeutic compounds to control oral infectious diseases. Moreover, their effects are particularly relevant when benchmarked against eugenol, a phytochemical commonly used for prosthodontic applications in dentistry.