This technology involves pharmaceutical, oral hygiene, and food compositions that utilize agarobiose or agarooligosaccharides, derived from the agar component agarose, as active ingredients to exhibit antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans, the primary cause of tooth decay. Agarooligosaccharides consist of a mixture of agarobiose, agarotetraose, agarohexaose, and agarooctaose.
S. mutans, the main culprit behind cavities, breaks down sugars to create insoluble glucan on tooth surfaces and releases organic acids that damage enamel. Xylitol, a common anti-cavity sweetener, only inhibits S. mutans growth at high concentrations, and its long-term use can lead to resistant strains. Furthermore, few natural sugars have been found to be as effective as xylitol.
This technology uses an oligosaccharide mixture obtained through acid hydrolysis of agarose, or agarobiose isolated and purified via gel permeation chromatography, to inhibit S. mutans growth and acid production from carbon consumption at lower concentrations than xylitol. As a natural sugar derived from seaweed, it is versatile for use in food and oral care products. It can be applied to toothpaste, mouthwash, oral sprays, functional sweetened foods like gum and candy, and anti-caries pharmaceuticals, providing a seaweed-derived anti-caries sweetener that effectively inhibits cavity-causing bacteria even in small amounts.
CN110177540B, US11458152B2, US2020-0078383A1, WO2018-093129A1
