Gingivitis is one of the most common oral
infections in humans. While
sugar alcohols such as
erythritol are suggested to have caries-preventive properties, it may also have beneficial effects in prevention of
gingivitis by preventing maturation of oral biofilms. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of
erythritol on the microbial ecology and the
gingivitis phenotype of oral microcosms. Biofilms were inoculated with stimulated saliva from 20 healthy donors and grown in a
gingivitis model in the continuous presence of 0 (control group), 5, and 10%
erythritol. After 9 days of growth, biofilm formation,
protease activity (
gingivitis phenotype), and microbial profile analyses were performed. Biofilm growth was significantly reduced in the presence of
erythritol, and this effect was dose dependent.
Protease activity and the Shannon diversity index of the microbial profiles of the biofilms were significantly lower when
erythritol was present. Microbial profile analysis revealed that presence of
erythritol induced a compositional shift from
periodontitis- and
gingivitis-related taxa toward early colonizers. The results of this study suggest that
erythritol suppresses maturation of the biofilms toward unhealthy composition. The
gingivitis phenotype was suppressed and biofilm formation was reduced in the presence of
erythritol. Therefore, it is concluded that
erythritol may contribute to a healthy oral ecosystem in vitro.