Comparison of the Use of the Halimeter and the Oral Chroma in the Assessment of the Ability of Common Cultivable Oral Anaerobic Bacteria to Produce Malodorous Volatile Sulfur Compounds from Cysteine and Methionine

Objective: To compare the use of the Halimeter and the Oral Chroma TM to assess the ability of common oral anaerobic bacteria isolated from the Kuwaiti population to produce volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). Materials and Methods: Broth cultures of common anaerobes isolated from supragingival plaque were centrifuged and pellets resuspended in phosphate buffer (pH 7.7) with an optical density OD 550 of 0.3. 100  l of this suspension and 870  l of buffer were added in 2 sterile 15-ml head space vials. Reaction was initiated by addition of 30  l of 33 m M L -methionine and L -cysteine, respectively, in each vial and incubation at 37 ° C for 90 min. 500 l of 3 M phosphoric acid was added to tubes and was kept aside for 10 min. Production of VSCs was measured using the Halimeter and the Oral Chroma. Results: The major VSC producers identified by both Halimeter and Oral Chroma with L -cystenine as substrate were Campylobacter ureolyticus , Porphyromonas gingivalis , Tannerella forsythia , Prevotella intermedia , Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Gemella morbillorum . The concentrations of hydrogen Received: November 23, 2009 Accepted: April 14, 2010 Prof. Nathanael O. Salako, BDS, MSC, FDS RCPS Department of Developmental and Preventive Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry Health Sciences Centre, Kuwait University, PO Box 24923 Safat 13110 (Kuwait) Tel. +965 2498 6690, E-Mail natsalako @ hsc.edu.kw © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel 1011–7571/11/0201–0075$38.00/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/mpp D ow nl oa de d by : 54 .7 0. 40 .1 1 11 /1 9/ 20 17 1 2: 12 :2 2 P M