Effects of Mouthwash Use on Oral and Fecal Microbiomes
In vivo study to compare the effects of a test and a positive control Mouthrinse on the microbiome of the oral cavity and GI tract.
Study Overview:
Thirty pairwise-matched subjects were randomized to use either Lumineux Oral Essentials Clean and Fresh MouthwashR (Oral Essentials, Beverly Hills, CA 90210), or Listerine Antiseptic MouthrinseR (Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc, New Brunswick, NJ, 08933) twice daily over a period of 90 days. On Days 0, 30 and 90, saliva and fecal samples were collected and immediately frozen. The microbiome was mapped for each sample using genomic microbial DNA analysis and 16S amplification with PCR.
After 30 and 90 days of mouthwash use, the oral microbiome of subjects using the test formulation showed no significant changes. However, after using the positive control mouthwash, there was a significant reduction of 72% (30 days) and 77% (90 days) in overall microbial presence, including Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Fusobacterium phyla, and in organisms including Actinomyces, Staphylococci, Streptococci, Lactobacilli, Aggregatibacter, Porphyromonas, Prevotella, Eikenella and Fusobacteria. Moreover, while the fecal microbiome of subjects using the test formulation showed no significant changes at either time point, fecal samples from subjects using the positive control mouthwash showed a strengthening trend towards reduced presence of some microbes at 30 days and at 90 days which did not, however, reach statistical significance. Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria showed a mean reduction in presence of 8% (30 days) and 11/9% (90 days); in Firmicutes the trend was 5% at 30 days and 9% at 90 days. In the positive control group only, mean data ranges increased by 300-400% treatment group by Day 90.
In order to learn more about potential long-term trends, 6 subjects from the positive control treatment group whose data profiles had remained the most consistent, stable and trended similarly over the first 90 days continued the study protocol for an additional 90 days. Their microbiome profiles remained similar to those manifested at 90 days. While species richness of the oral microbiome did not change significantly vs. Day 0, Day 30 and Day 90, there was a significant reduction vs Day 0 in overall microbial presence in Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Fusobacterium phyla, and in organisms including Actinomyces, Staphylococci, Streptococci, Lactobacilli, Aggregatibacter, Porphyromonas, Prevotella, Eikenella and Fusobacteria. The data ranges (and S.D.s) in these 6 subjects for each variable were similar to those in these subjects at 90 Days, averaging approx. 70% in these 6 subjects. The overall species richness of the fecal microbiome of 6 subjects using the positive control mouthwash was reduced significantly for some organisms vs Day 0, including Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes.