Flower Power for Bright Smile: Butterfly Pea Toothpaste

The butterfly pea flower is easily found in Indonesia. This flower has the scientific name Clitoria ternatea. Its purple color adorns the petals of the butterfly pea flower. Its beautiful shape resembling a butterfly earns it the nickname.

Typically, this flower is consumed by brewing it in hot water. The water will turn purplish. The butterfly pea flower drink is then sweetened with sugar, ice cubes, and a splash of lime or lemon juice to provide a refreshing sensation.

The beautiful purple flower has many beneficial properties for the body. As quoted from Detik.com, the butterfly pea flower contains various substances such as flavonoid glycosides and phenolics for wound healing, anthocyanins, which are good antioxidants, and b-phytosterol, which functions to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

The myriad benefits sparked the interest of researchers at Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta (UMS), drg. Dendy Murdiyanto, M.DSc., will examine the content of butterfly pea flowers suitable for toothpaste additives and effective in maintaining oral health.

“From a series of tests conducted, butterfly pea flowers contain substances that can be used as active ingredients to kill bacteria and fungi in the mouth. We then developed it into toothpaste with butterfly pea flower extract,” said Dendy on Wednesday (20/3/2024).

The research findings have been published in the Journal of International Dental and Medical Research under the title “Toothpaste Formulation of Butterfly Pea Flower (Clitoria Ternatea L.) Ethanol Extract as an Antibacterial for Streptococcus Mutans and Antifungal for Candida Albicans in the Oral Cavity,” indexed in Scopus Q3.

Contacted via Zoom Meeting, Dendy explained that butterfly pea flowers were chosen because they are easily accessible and available in large quantities. In addition to being natural, Dendy mentioned that butterfly pea flowers are safe to use on the human body.

Several chemical compounds in butterfly pea flowers are beneficial for oral health. Butterfly pea flowers contain phytochemicals (plant-derived nutrients). The phytochemical content of butterfly pea flowers includes alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and saponins.

The alkaloids in butterfly pea flowers can damage the cell walls of fungi and bacteria in the mouth, thereby eliminating the protection of the microbial cell cores. This damage will inhibit the metabolism of fungi and bacteria in the mouth, impeding their growth.

“Alkaloids damage ribosomes and inhibit peptide formation, causing bacteria to function abnormally and eventually die,” said drg. Dendy.

The content of butterfly pea flowers was tested on Streptococcus mutans bacteria, which cause cavities, and Candida albicans fungi, which cause white patches in the mouth that trigger mouth sores.

“We used concentrations of butterfly pea flowers ranging from 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60%, 70%,” he added. He mentioned that a 50% concentration of butterfly pea flowers effectively killed fungi and bacteria in the oral cavity.

Dendy conducted a series of processes to test the benefits of butterfly pea flowers for oral health. The butterfly pea flower had to be extracted before being combined with toothpaste.

The toothpaste used is different from the toothpaste available in the market. The Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry (FKG) admitted to using basic toothpaste ingredients such as calcium carbonate, glycerin, sodium, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium benzoate, saccharin, menthol, and aquadest.

“All toothpastes available in the market mostly have the same basic ingredients. But in the market, there are various types, right? There are toothpastes with added aroma, flavor, or color, but I use active ingredients as additional ingredients. The purpose of adding these ingredients is to inhibit microorganisms, namely using the butterfly pea flower,” he explained.

Although the test results conducted by Dendy are effective in eradicating fungi and bacteria in the oral cavity, the toothpaste formulation of butterfly pea flowers has yet to be widely available. Dendy explains that further testing is needed on cells and animals before being ready for human trials.

“There are still further tests until it is ready for use in the community (the butterfly pea flower toothpaste). So it needs to be tested step by step, starting from small organisms like cells and small living creatures, in vitro and in vivo, until finally being tested on humans,” said the Indonesian Society of Dental Materials and Devices member.

When asked about the next steps, Dendy mentioned that he would enhance the safety of his product. The research will proceed with toxicity testing and cytotoxicity testing. Furthermore, they have also applied for copyright and patent protection.

“If the copyright is in process and the patent has been registered. Then if the product has been proven safe, effective, and passed by BPOM (Indonesia's Food and Drug Administration), then insyaallah, it will be ready for production next year,” he continued.

The research conducted by Dendy brings a breath of fresh air to the efforts to maintain oral health in Indonesia. Butterfly pea flowers become a natural alternative that is easily accessible. The innovation carried out by Dendy is expected to help reduce the level of oral and dental health problems in the community.

The Basic Health Research conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2018 showed that 57.6% of the Indonesian population experienced dental and oral health problems. Only 10.2% of them received medical assistance.

The data is regrettable, considering that the mouth is an organ of vital importance. Dendy sees the mouth as one of the dirtiest organs because it serves as the entry point for food into the body. Within food, some microorganisms gradually inhabit the oral cavity.

Several tips can be done to maintain oral health:

• Rinse after meals. Rinsing can be done using clean water or mouthwash. Regular rinsing will clean the mouth from bacteria that are not firmly attached to the oral cavity.
• Brush your teeth. Brushing your teeth at least twice a day after breakfast and before bedtime is best. Bacteria become active at night while we sleep.
• Have a dental check-up every six months. Regular check-ups will ensure that your teeth remain healthy. If there are any issues, they can be addressed promptly.

“If the oral cavity is not cleaned regularly, the bacteria that cling to it will develop into tooth decay, bad breath, and other oral diseases. This will later disrupt activities even though the oral cavity has important functions such as eating, drinking, and speaking,” concluded Dendy.

Writer: Gede Arga Adrian

Editor: Al Habiib Josy Asheva

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid