Adams Suzi Elizabeth, Cawley Andrew Kenneth, Arnold David, Hoptroff Michael John, Slomka Vera, Matheson Jane Reid, Marriott Robert Edward, Gemmell Matthew Ronald, Marsh Philip David
Unilever Oral Care, Bromborough Road, Bebington, CH63 3JW, UK.
Institute of Integrative Biology, Centre for Genomic Research, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK.
Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 8;15(1):8136. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-92545-0.
The oral microbiome is a diverse community of microbes residing on all oral surfaces. A balanced oral microbiome is associated with good oral health, and disruption can result in imbalance associated with diseases including gingivitis and dental caries. It is important, therefore, to understand how daily use of oral hygiene products impacts the microbiome. Composition and activity of dental plaque microbiome from 115 participants was analysed after brushing with one of two toothpastes, one containing zinc citrate trihydrate and the other a control toothpaste, in a parallel design. Each participant brushed twice daily for 6-weeks, with samples collected at baseline, 2 and 6-weeks. Metataxonomic analysis demonstrated changes in bacterial communities with use of the zinc toothpaste compared to the control product at community and species level. Increases at the species level were observed for taxa from the genus Veillonella with decrease in a taxon from the genus Fusobacterium for the zinc toothpaste. Analysis of microbiome function based on predicted metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analysis show that use of the zinc toothpaste is associated with an in-vivo reduction in glycolysis, consistent with the mode of action of zinc and, increases in processes linked to gum-health (lysine biosynthesis), and to whole-body health (nitrate reduction). Our findings provide the first understanding of the beneficial modulation of microbiome composition and function by zinc-containing toothpaste in-vivo for oral care benefits.
口腔微生物群是存在于所有口腔表面的多种微生物群落。平衡的口腔微生物群与良好的口腔健康相关，而其破坏可能导致与包括牙龈炎和龋齿在内的疾病相关的失衡。因此，了解日常使用口腔卫生产品如何影响微生物群很重要。在一项平行设计中，115名参与者分别使用两种牙膏之一刷牙后，分析了牙菌斑微生物群的组成和活性，其中一种牙膏含有三水合柠檬酸锌，另一种为对照牙膏。每位参与者每天刷牙两次，持续6周，在基线、第2周和第6周收集样本。宏分类分析表明，与对照产品相比，使用含锌牙膏后细菌群落在群落和物种水平上发生了变化。对于含锌牙膏，韦荣氏菌属的分类群在物种水平上增加，而梭杆菌属的一个分类群减少。基于预测的宏基因组和宏转录组分析对微生物群功能的分析表明，使用含锌牙膏与体内糖酵解减少有关，这与锌的作用模式一致，并且与牙龈健康（赖氨酸生物合成）和全身健康（硝酸盐还原）相关的过程增加。我们的研究结果首次揭示了含锌牙膏在体内对微生物群组成和功能的有益调节作用，有助于口腔护理。
