Aim: To evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of neem leaf extract, Morinda citrifolia and saline, against Enterococcus faecalis. Materials and methods: A total of 120 teeth were selected for the study from the subjects between the age group of 6 and 12 years. Forty teeth were randomly assigned to one of the 3 groups corresponding to the irrigant to be tested; group I (Azadirachta indica), group II (M. citrifolia) and group III (saline). After irrigation with the respective irrigant, the post-irrigation sample was sent for the microbiological analysis to determine the antimicrobial efficacy of each irrigant. Results: The mean E. faecalis growth of group I after irrigation was 15.48, group II was 24.73 and group III was 40.08. It was statistically significant (p value 0.000) among all the three groups. This shows that the mean E. faecalis growth was significantly higher after irrigation with saline when compared to other groups. Conclusion:Neem leaf extract exhibited maximum inhibition against E. faecalis while saline exhibited the least antimicrobial efficacy with least inhibition. Clinical significance: In the clinical setup, saline which is used as a common irrigant significantly reduces the number of bacteria in the root canal, but could not completely eliminate them. This study was an effort to find out alternative herbal irrigants which can perform effectively and are available easily for clinical practice.
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