The effectiveness of Taro ( Colocasia esculenta L. Schott ) leaf extract as a denture cleanser against Candida albicans in acrylic plate

Denture wearers use cleanser with chemical cleaning solution to eliminate the formation of plaque, tartar and food scraps, as well as bad breath. Thus, many natural materials used as alternative synthetic materials have recently been developed. One of natural materials developed is Taro Leaf. To determine the effectiveness of Taro leaf extract as a denture cleanser against Candida albicans on acrylic plate. The acrylic plate was soaked in sterile saliva and then soaked in Candida albicans for 24 hours. Those samples then were divided into four groups, namely one control group and using Taro leaf extract at concentrations of 40%, 60%, and 80%. After the treatment, they were planted on Sabaroud Dextrose Agar and then incubated for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the visible growth of Candida albicans colonies was measured. The results then were analyzed by using the Kolmogrov Smirnov, Levene test, one way ANOVA, and Tukey HSD test. There was a significant difference in the growth of Candida albicans colonies between the treatment group using Taro leaf extract at the concentration of 40%, 60% and 80%. This study can be concluded that the immersion of acrylic resin plate in taro leaf extract (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) with a concentration of 80% can effectively decrease the number of colonies of Candida albicans on acrylic resins.