An insight into the last 5-year patents on porphyromonas gingivalis and streptococcus mutans, the pivotal pathogens in the oral cavity

ABSTRACT

Introduction

The oral cavity harbors an extensive array of over 700 microorganisms, forming the most complex biome of the entire human body, with bacterial species being the most abundant. Oral diseases, e.g. periodontitis and caries, are strictly associated with bacterial dysbiosis. Porphyromonas gingivalis and Streptococcus mutans stand out among bacteria colonizing the oral cavity.

Areas covered

After a brief overview of the bacterial populations in the oral cavity and their roles in regulating (flora) oral cavity or causing diseases like periodontal and cariogenic pathogens, we focused our attention on P. gingivalis and S. mutans, searching for the last-5-year patents dealing with the proposal of new strategies to fight their infections. Following the PRISMA protocol, we filtered the results and analyzed over 100 applied/granted patents, to provide an in-depth insight into this R&D scenario.

Expert opinion

Several antibacterial proposals have been patented in this period, from both chemical – peptides and small molecules – and biological – probiotics and antibodies – sources, along with natural extracts, polymers, and drug delivery systems. Most of the inventors are from China and Korea and their studies also investigated anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, being beneficial to oral health through a prophylactic, protective, or curative effect.

KEYWORDS:

• Antibacterial
• Antibodies
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antimicrobial peptides
• Natural extracts
• Oral cavity
• Porphyromonas gingivalis
• Patents
• Periodontitis
• Probiotics
• Streptococcus mutans

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Porphyromonas gingivalis and Streptococcus mutans are the main causative agents of periodontal diseases, their role and virulence factors are analyzed.

• A journey in the last five-year (2018-2023) patent scenario shed light on the different strategies to tackle P. gingivalis and S. mutans infections or colonization of the oral cavity.

• Patents mostly dealt with small molecules (few), new applications due to repurposing approach, natural extracts, probiotics, and antibodies.

• A large set of antimicrobial agents has been described and a trend to focus the research on natural (plant extracts) and biological (probiotics, postbiotics) fields emerged.

• Antibacterial activities are often investigated along with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant profiles.

• Intense patent activity is recorded from the Asian continent.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Author contribution

All authors participated in the conceptualization of the topic, literature searches, writing, and preparation of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Availability of data

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created in this study. Data analyzed in this article can be found in the related references cited within the text.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.