Inhibition of Oral Bacteria by Phenolic Compounds. Part 1. QSAR Analysis using Molecular Connectivity

Minimal inhibitory concentrations towards three oral bacteria were determined for a large (>100) number of structurally diverse phenols and related compounds. Inspection of these data suggests phenolic recognition sites in which ligand binding is dominated by hydrophobic interactions, with lesser contributions from steric factors and hydrogen bonding. This interpretation is supported by structure-bioactivity correlation equations obtained for Porphyromonas gingivalis and Streptococcus sobrinus using molecular connectivity descriptors, but not for Selenomonas artemidis. “Classical” molecular connectivity indices cannot adequately account for the growth-inhibitory properties of phenols towards the latter bacterium.