Rethinking Oral Infection Control: Antimicrobial Peptides and Essential Oils as Alternative Antibacterial Agents

Oral health directly influences individuals' overall health status. Infections observed here not only affect individuals' quality of life but also decrease their productivity. Additionally, these infections can lead to systemic infections by affecting other body regions. Among the major causes that disrupt oral health are untreated dental caries and advanced periodontal diseases. Factors such as the loss of drug efficacy due to antimicrobial resistance, challenges in discovering new drug classes, and the limitation of existing treatment options due to observed side effects increase the need for new treatment strategies for the prevention and treatment of oral infections. The chemical composition of commercial essential oils (EO) were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antibacterial activities of antimicrobial peptides and essential oils were evaluated using minimum inhibitory concentration method. Combinations of essential oils with antimicrobial peptides at a 1:1 ratio were prepared to investigate their efficacy. The main components of the essential oils were identified as carvacrol (82.675%) for Thymus vulgaris EO, eugenol (79.367%) for Syzygium aromaticum EO, menthol (47.199%) for Mentha piperita EO, and eucalyptol (63.642%) for Eucalyptus globulus EO. Among the essential oils, T. vulgaris exhibited the best antibacterial effect. The efficacy of combinations varied among the test bacteria. The most effective combination was determined with peppermint essential oil. Peppermint essential oil reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration value of both antimicrobial peptides by fourfold. The combination of lactoferrin and thyme essential oil led to a decrease in efficacy against all test bacteria. Although antimicrobial peptides alone showed limited activity, their combination with certain essential oils enhanced their antibacterial effectiveness against oral pathogens. These findings suggest that natural agent combinations exhibit species-specific efficacy and hold promise for the development of alternative therapeutic strategies.