Myrsinoic acid B inhibits the production of hydrogen sulfide by periodontal pathogens in vitro.

Recently, we reported that myrsinoic acid B purified from Myrsine seguinii inhibited methyl mercaptan (CH(3)SH) production by Fusobacterium nucleatum JCM8532. Since hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) is the main component of physiological halitosis, while CH(3)SH is involved in pathological oral halitosis, the objective of this study is to determine whether myrsinoic acid B inhibits H(2)S production by oral microorganisms. F. nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola were incubated with myrsinoic acid B and a substrate such as l-cysteine or l-methionine. H(2)S or CH(3)SH concentration in the headspace air, was determined using a gas chromatograph. The concentration of myrsinoic acid B inhibiting 50% (IC(50)) of H(2)S production by F. nucleatum was 0.142 µg ml(-1), and the IC(50) of P. gingivalis and T. denticola were 2.71 µg ml(-1) and 28.9 µg ml(-1), respectively. The presence of pyruvate, a by-product of H(2)S production, was determined. The IC(50) values of myrsinoic acid B for pyruvate production were 22.9 µg ml(-1) for F. nucleatum, 87.7 µg ml(-1) for P. gingivalis and 165 µg ml(-1) for T. denticola. We concluded that myrsinoic acid B inhibited the production of both H(2)S and pyruvate by periodontal pathogens.