The bacteriostatic effect of erythritol on canine periodontal disease–related bacteria

Erythritol helps both prevent and improve periodontal disease and is therefore widely used for dental care in humans. However, only a few studies have investigated the effects of erythritol on periodontal disease in animals. We hypothesized that erythritol could be used to prevent and improve periodontal disease also in canines and investigated the effects of erythritol on canine periodontal disease–related pathogenic bacteria using both in vitro and in vivo methods. The effect of erythritol on the proliferation of Porphyromonas gulae, which is reportedly associated with canine periodontal disease, was investigated in vitro. In addition, a 4-week intervention trial using an external gel preparation containing 5% erythritol was performed in canines with mild periodontal disease; changes in the microbiota around periodontal lesions were investigated using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. The growth of P. gulae was significantly suppressed by erythritol in vitro. In the intervention study, the Shannon index, an indicator of the species distribution α-diversity, and the occupancy of several canine periodontal disease – related bacteria (P. gulae, P. cangingivalis) were significantly decreased in periodontal lesions. Based on the results of in vitro and in vivo studies, we conclude that, as in humans, erythritol has bacteriostatic effects against periodontal disease – related bacteria in canines.