ALTERATION OF ORAL MICROBIOME IN CHILDREN AFTER USING MISWAK (SALVADORA PERSICA L.) MADE FROM ARAK AS A NATURAL TOOTHPASTE

The influence of Miswak (Salvadora persica L.) that is made from arak on the oral microbiome signatures of 6- to 12-year-old Saudi children was studied. Deep sequencing was done for the V3-V4 regions of bacterial 16S rRNA. Sequence tags were assigned to 291 OTUs (operational taxonomic units) across samples with> 97% similarity. The results indicated that factors like ethnic background and/or geographic origin can influence differences in healthy oral microbiome signatures. The results indicated some changes in the overall structure and diversity of oral microbiome. At genera level, there are five abundant phyla At the species level, there are two opportunistic pathogens and the unassigned species as well as bacteria of the Proteobacteria family significantly decreased, the unassigned species belonging to the two genera increased due to swaking The high abundance of Streptococcus and Megasphaera genera and low abundance of Veillonella genus are biomarkers of good oral hygiene as the first two genera (producer) can catabolize carbohydrates to the useful short-chain organic acids in biofilm formation, while the third (consumer) relies mainly on the fermentation of organic acids. These results shed light on the possible anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties of Miswak in addition to the role in removing plaque. In summary, we claim that Miswak is an excellent natural toothpaste for maintaining good oral hygiene, especially for children.