Evaluation of the Antifungal Efficacy of Natural Gum Acacia and Aloe Vera against Candida albicans on Conventional and Digital Denture Base Materials: An In Vitro Study

Abstract

This study evaluated the efficacy of Acacia Arabica and aloe vera solutions versus commercial effervescent tablets on <i>Candida</i> viability and adhesion to various denture bases with different materials and manufacturing techniques.A total of 96 square-shaped denture base specimens (24 per group) were fabricated from heat-cured polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), thermoformed polyamide (FlexiUltra), milled computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM; Avadent), and 3D-printed (FormLabs) resins. Specimens were allocated into a control group (distilled water) and three experimental groups (<i>n</i> = 6 per group) based on the immersion solutions: Gum acacia (GA), aloe vera, and alkaline peroxide denture cleansers. One specimen from each material subgroup was prepared for qualitative assessment. All specimens were incubated with <i>Candida albicans</i> for 48 hours and immersed in the designated disinfectant solution for 8 hours. Anti-<i>C. albicans</i> biofilm activity was assessed quantitatively using an MTT assay and qualitatively using a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM).One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed for mean comparison, and data were considered significant at <i>p</i> < 0.05.The reduction in mean <i>Candida</i> viability was greatest in the alkaline peroxide tablets across all denture base materials, followed by GA and aloe vera (<i>p</i> < 0.001). GA demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in <i>Candida</i> levels in the thermoplastic polyamide (<i>p</i> < 0.001). The mean viability of <i>Candida</i> in both alkaline peroxide tablets and GA was statistically similar in digital denture bases (<i>p</i> > 0.05).The antifungal efficacy of alkaline peroxide denture cleansers was determined to be the highest. The cost-effective GA may serve as a viable denture disinfectant, particularly for thermoformed polyamide denture bases.