<![CDATA[Background: Miswak (Salvadora persica) is a traditional oral-hygiene tool whose extracts contain phytochemicals with potential antibacterial activity. Streptococcus mutans is a key cariogenic bacterium implicated in dental caries. Purpose: To screen the in vitro antibacterial activity of sequential S. persica solvent extracts against S. mutans using an agar disc diffusion assay. Methods: Dried S. persica was sequentially macerated with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and 96% ethanol. Concentrated extracts were tested against a S.mutans clinical isolate maintained at the Microbiology Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine, UIN Syarif Hidayatulah Jakarta, standardized to 0.5 McFarland. For solvent comparison, 6-mm sterile discs were loaded with 100% (v/v) extract in their respective solvents. For dose–response testing, the 96% ethanolic extract was tested at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% (v/v in 96% ethanol). Neat solvents served as negative controls and amoxicillin (10 µg) as the positive control. Plates were incubated for 24 h at 37 °C, inhibition zones (mm) were measured, and between-group differences were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc tests (α = 0.05). Results: The 96% ethanolic extract produced larger inhibition zones than the ethyl acetate and n-hexane fractions, while all extracts produced smaller zones than amoxicillin. For the 96% ethanolic extract, mean inhibition zones increased from 11.67±0.58 mm (25%) to 16.00±2.65 mm (100%), showing a positive concentration–response by linear regression (R² = 0.95; slope = 0.056 mm per % (v/v), ≈1.40 mm per 25% increase), and all concentrations produced significantly larger zones than the 96% ethanol solvent control (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: Salvadora persica extracts demonstrated measurable inhibition of S. mutans in an agar disc diffusion screening assay, with the 96% ethanolic extract showing the largest zones under the conditions tested.]]>
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