International Science Community Association International Research Journal of Biological Sciences 2278 - 3202 6 8 2017 08 10 Evaluation of antimicrobial activity of Neem and black pepper extracts and its efficacy in decontaminating Gutta percha cones 7 16 EN Shaba A.M. 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Niger State Polytechnic Zungeru, Niger State, Nigeria Oyeleke S.B. 2 Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria Oyewole O.A. 3 Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria Mohammed S.S.D. 4 Department of Microbiology, Kaduna State University, Kaduna State, Nigeria Salahudeen A.O. 5 Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria Ikekwem C.C. 6 Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria Niranjan Nandkumar Patil 1 Department of Microbiology, Patkar-Varde College, S.V. Road, Goregaon, Mumbai, India Shweta Bhise Patel 2 Department of Microbiology, Patkar-Varde College, S.V. Road, Goregaon, Mumbai, India > Research Paper 2017 5 12 2017 08 10 Dental caries is the disease very common worldwide, after periodontitis. If left untreated, the entire tooth demineralizes. Root canal treatment is the solution to the untreated decays. GP cones are used to fill in the abscess cavity of the tooth. Various irrigants are used to sterilize the GP cones and cavity is like sodium hypochlorite, ethanol etc. but these chemicals come with their own disadvantages. Thus, different parts of plants are tested for their antimicrobial activity to decontaminate GP cones. In this study, neem and black pepper would be studied for their antimicrobial activity. The ethanolic extracts of neem leaves, neem bark and kernels, and black pepper along with mixture of all three materials are used to check for their antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Further GP cones are dipped in different concentration of the extracts and tested against S. mutans, which is the main causative oral pathogen. The MIC was also determined to check the minimum inhibitory concentration of these extracts. Results showed that neem and black pepper both had good anti-microbial activity against the organisms used in the study but the mixture extract showed excellent cumulative anti-microbial activity. Copyright@ International Science Community Association