Effects of actinobolin on growth and some metabolic activities of cariogenic streptococci in vitro and in vivo.

Actinobolin, a known inhibitor of protein synthesis, has been shown not to interfere selectively with acid production or dextransucrase activity in a cariogenic streptococcus when the antibiotic is added to a concentration of 500 mug/ml. It has also been shown that actinobolin does not alter the total in vivo flora of the oral cavity of the rat when tested in a rat caries model system. A culture of cariogenic streptococci, adapted to in vitro growth in the presence of 1 mg of actinobolin per ml, has also been isolated.