Magnolia Bark Extract Fights Off Tooth Decay and Bad Breath

Even the dinosaurs enjoyed the fragrance of the magnolia blossoms, as this is one of the oldest flowering tree types in the world. But they are more than beautiful flowers: the bark of these trees contains polyphenols, that's why it was used for centuries by the Chinese and Japanese medicine.

Now the magnolia bark's chemicals will be used against bad breath. A team in Illinois has pointed in a research published in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that breath mints made up of magnolia bark extract kill the majority of oral bacteria that cause bad breath and tooth decay within 30 minutes. The extract would improve significantly oral health worldwide and this could be also used in chewing gum.

There are more than 300 species of bacteria living in the human mouth. As the mouth is dim, warm and wet, it makes the ideal environment for bacteria causing a bad breath. It has been connected mainly to four bacteria species: Veilonella alcalescens, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Bacteroides melaninogenicus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. They feed on food remains, dead cells and other chemicals found in the mouth, releasing in the process the offensive-smelling gases, just like in garbage decomposition. In most cases, this putrefaction can lead to the destruction of the teeth and gum disease.

Even if currently flavored chewing gum and mints are employed against bad breath, they just cover for a short time the bacteria induced bad breath. Anti-bacterial items for bad breath come with some unpleasant side effects like tooth staining.

The team made by Minmin Tian and Michael Greenberg checked the bacteria-killing power of magnolia bark extract on saliva samples taken from subjects after a regular meal. The mints with magnolia bark extract killed over 61 % of the bacteria that provoke bad breath within 30 minutes, while the same mint without the added magnolia bark extract destroyed just 3.6 % of the bacteria.

The magnolia bark extract was found to be also very active against a type of bacterium that causes cavities. Mints and chewing gum with the added extract could be a "portable oral care supplement to dentifrice (toothpaste), where brushing is not possible," the study states.