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Anti-cariogenic effects of erythritol on growth and adhesion of Streptococcus mutans

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Abstract

Erythritol is one of the most widely used low calorie sugar substitutes and has known inhibitory effects on the growth of Streptococcus mutans. However, the mechanism underlying this inhibition is poorly understood. Expression profiles of the glucosyltransferase (GTF) and fructosyltransferase (FTF) genes in S. mutans were evaluated in the presence of erythritol and other sweeteners. Adhesion of S. mutans to different carbohydrates was also determined across a range of concentrations. Erythritol significantly (p<0.05) inhibited adherence of S. mutans under multiple conditions, compared with sucrose. Erythritol significantly (p<0.05) inhibited expressions of gtfB, gtfC, gtfD, and ftf in the presence of various carbohydrates compared with sucrose. These findings were consistent with an anti-cariogenic effect of erythritol on S. mutans, and suggested mechanisms by which erythritol inhibits formation of dental caries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dental Hygiene, Gimcheon University, Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk, 740-704, Korea

    Young-Nam Park

  2. Department of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 500-757, Korea

    Seong-Soog Jeong, Suk-Jin Hong & Choong-Ho Choi

  3. Department of Oral Microbiology, and 2nd Stage of Brain Korea 21 for School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 500-757, Korea

    Jin Zeng, Sun-Hye Kim & Seung-Ho Ohk

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  1. Young-Nam Park
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  2. Seong-Soog Jeong
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  3. Jin Zeng
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  4. Sun-Hye Kim
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  5. Suk-Jin Hong
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Correspondence to Choong-Ho Choi.

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Park, YN., Jeong, SS., Zeng, J. et al. Anti-cariogenic effects of erythritol on growth and adhesion of Streptococcus mutans . Food Sci Biotechnol 23, 1587–1591 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-014-0215-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-014-0215-0

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