Antimicrobial Activity of Phytic Acid, Citric Acid, and EDTA with and without Propolis against Enterococcus Faecalis and Candida Albicans

This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial efficacy of chelation agents on Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) and Candida albicans (C. albicans) when used alone or in combination with propolis. One hundred fifty mandibular premolar teeth were selected. Each canal was prepared with Reciproc R25. The roots were then divided into two parts along their long axis (n=300). For E. faecalis and C. albicans, the samples were divided into 16 groups (14 experimental and 2 control) as follows: Group 1A-1B [17% Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)], Group 2A-2B [10% Citric Acid (CA)], Group 3A-3B [1% phytic acid/inositol hexaphosphate (IP6)], Group 4A-4B (17% EDTA+8 mg/mL propolis), Group 5A-5B (10% CA+8 mg/mL propolis), Group 6A-6B (1% IP6+8mg/mL propolis), Group 7A-7B (8 mg/mL propolis), Control A-B (Dimethyl Sulfoxide). Each tooth was randomly irrigated with 2 mL of one of the group solutions or dispersions for 5 min, and the solutions were examined for the bactericidal effect. For C. albicans, all groups showed less optical density (OD) than the control group (P<0.05). The propolis group and the IP6 group had higher OD values ​​than the CA group (P<0.05). For E. faecalis, on the other hand, significantly lower OD values were observed in the propolis+ CA group, compared to the CA and propolis groups (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between microbial growth among IP6, EDTA, propolis+ CA, propolis+IP6, and propolis+ EDTA groups (P>0.05). CA and IP6 showed promising results in eliminating E. faecalis, one of the collective organisms responsible for failed root canals.