Effect of Seaweed Extract on the Binding of Oral Microbes to Saliva

Microorganisms bind to the glycans attached to proteins, thus the goal of this study was to investigate the role of glycans in the adherence of specific microbial strains linked to the oral microbiome or oral infections. This was investigated by microbial adhesion assay on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane plate with saliva proteins containing N-linked and O-linked glycans immobilized in the wells. Common microorganisms in the oral cavity were selected. The results will help in the understanding of microorganisms binding profiles to the salivary glycoproteins. The effect of saliva from people having different ABO-blood groups on microbial binding was investigated. The potential use of polysaccharides extracted from seaweeds to bind to the microbes to reproduce the role of salivary glycoproteins in populating the oral microbiome was also studied. The seaweed extracts were produced by the industrial partner Venus Shell Systems®, through a series of extraction procedures. The microbes were binding differently to ABO saliva types and responded differently after preincubation with seaweed extracts. The future scope of this study will be to find the best seaweed extract that can mimic the role of saliva in the binding of the beneficial microbiome whilst removing pathogens from populating the dry mouth of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.