[Caries-inducing activity of soybean-oligosaccharide (SOR) in vitro and in experimental dental caries of rats].

The caries-inducing activity of soybean-oligosaccharide (SOR: stachyose- and raffinose-rich sugar mixture) was examined in in vitro and in vivo experiments. Streptococcus mutans MT 8148R fermented SOR and produced acids. However Streptococcus sobrinus 6715 did not ferment. SOR was not able to act as a substrate for crude glucosyltransferases (GTase) of these mutans streptococci to synthesize the water-insoluble glucan. However, SOR did not inhibit the synthesis of water-insoluble glucan from sucrose by crude GTase. SOR was proved to be of low cariogenicity in rats infected with S. sobrinus 6715.