{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T06:09:25Z","timestamp":1778479765435,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778457600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oral Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Dental caries is a biofilm-related disease that disproportionately affects low-income populations due to limited access to expensive treatments. Natural products offer a promising and affordable alternative for preventing cavities. This study investigated the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of cardamom essential oil (CEO), which contains bioactive compounds such as 1,8-cineole, linalool, and sabinene, against\n                    <jats:italic>Streptococcus mutans<\/jats:italic>\n                    , the primary cariogenic bacterium. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated using agar well diffusion, broth microdilution, biofilm (crystal violet), and cell viability (MTT) assays. The effects of CEO on six virulence-associated genes (\n                    <jats:italic>gtfB, gtfC, gtfD, ldh, gbpB,<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>vicR<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) were analyzed using quantitative PCR. Minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of CEO were 2.5% and 5.0% (\n                    <jats:italic>v\/v<\/jats:italic>\n                    ), respectively. At 5.0%, biofilm formation and cell viability decreased by more than 75%, while virulence gene expression was upregulated, indicating a stress response. Among twelve tested essential oils, CEO showed the strongest inhibition of\n                    <jats:italic>S. mutans<\/jats:italic>\n                    growth and biofilm formation. These findings demonstrate the\n                    <jats:italic>in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                    inhibitory potential of CEO against\n                    <jats:italic>S. mutans<\/jats:italic>\n                    and highlight its promise as a natural, accessible compound for future development of cost-effective oral care formulations. Further validation in polymicrobial and\n                    <jats:italic>in vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                    models will help to confirm and extend these findings toward potential anticariogenic applications.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/froh.2026.1796712","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T05:29:50Z","timestamp":1778477390000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["In vitro inhibition of Streptococcus mutans by cardamom essential oil"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Nanki J.","family":"Singh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover","place":["Hannover, Germany"]},{"name":"Institute of Microbiology, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover","place":["Hannover, Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gizem","family":"Kezer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover","place":["Hannover, Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marcus A.","family":"Horn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Microbiology, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover","place":["Hannover, Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Silke","family":"Hillebrand","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Symrise AG","place":["Holzminden, Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tuba","family":"Esatbeyoglu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover","place":["Hannover, Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","first-page":"3","article-title":"The global increase in dental caries. 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