Chitosan mouthwash: toxicity and in vivo validation.

A previous study showed that a chitosan mouthwash would be a valid alternative to current mouthwashes as it demonstrated, in vitro, significantly higher antibiofilm activity than two commercial mouthwashes. As such, the aim of this work was to verify the safety of the developed product and to validate, in vivo, the biological activity ascertained in vitro. Chitosan mouthwash safety was evaluated through Ames, MTT and V79 chromosomal aberration assay while antimicrobial activity was evaluated through in vivo assays. The results showed that the chitosan mouthwash was safe, presenting lower cytotoxicity than a commercial mouthwash, and that it effectively reduced viable counts of Streptococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp. by ca. 5.5 log of CFU. Furthermore, in direct comparison with a commercial mouthwash the chitosan mouthwash possessed significantly higher antimicrobial activity. The conjunction of these results proves that the chitosan mouthwash is a safe, effective, natural alternative to the existent chemical mouthwashes.