Chemical and structural composition of black pigmented supragingival biofilm of bovines with periodontitis1

Saraiva J.R., Buso-Ramos M.M., Borsanelli A.C., Schweitzer C.M., Gaetti-Jardim Jr. E., Höfling J.F., Ramos T.N.M. & Dutra I.S. 2019. Chemical and structural composition of black pigmented supragingival biofilm of bovines with periodontitis. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira 39(12): 933-941. Departamento de Apoio, Produção e Saúde Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária de Araçatuba, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Rua Clóvis Pestana 793, Cx. Postal 533, Jardim Dona Amélia, Araçatuba, SP 16050-680, Brazil. E-mail: iveraldo.dutra@unesp.br Bovine periodontitis is a multifactorial disease primarily associated with a potentially pathogenic microbiota housed in the oral biofilm of animals. Biofilms are organized structures, in which the constituents coexist in symbiosis, already described as a predisposing factor to periodontitis in other species. The objective of the present study was to characterize the structure and chemical aspects of the bovine black pigmented supragingival biofilm using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively, and determine its relationship with bovine periodontitis. Eleven premolar teeth from different animals were evaluated; five non-pigmented samples and six samples with black pigmented biofilms were initially submitted to SEM, and three areas of these samples were selected for EDS. The structure of the pigmented biofilm was more complex and irregular because of a higher content of mineral elements. The semi-quantitative EDS data indicated an association of iron (p<0.014) and magnesium (p<0.001) with the occurrence of periodontitis, whereas carbon, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, sodium, and potassium were not associated with the disease. Carbon (p<0.039), manganese (p<0.007), and iron (p<0.015) were associated with pigmentation, whereas phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium were not associated with it. Spearman correlation test showed the relationships between calcium and phosphorus, and iron and silicon. The strong association of iron in the pigmented supragingival biofilm and with the occurrence of periodontitis suggests the presence of microorganisms that use this element in their metabolism and that are also associated with bovine periodontitis. This study suggests that the pigmented deposits in the crown of the teeth of cattle are an true PVB-6352 LD Chemical and structural composition of black pigmented supragingival biofilm of bovines with periodontitis1 Júlia Rebecca Saraiva2 , Marcelle Marie B. Ramos3, Ana Carolina Borsanelli4, Christiane M. Schweitzer5, Elerson Gaetti-Jardim Júnior6, José Francisco Höfling7, Thamiris Naiasha M. Ramos2 and Iveraldo S. Dutra8*  1 Received on March 26, 2019. Accepted for publication on June 6, 2019. 2 Graduate Program in Veterinary Medicine, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (Unesp), Via de Acesso Professor Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, Jaboticabal, SP 14884-900, Brazil. E-mail: julia_beca@hotmail.com 3 Collaborating Researcher of the Graduate Program in Oral-Dental Biology, Departamento de Diagnóstico Oral, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Avenida Limeira 901, Areião, Piracicaba, SP 13414-903, Brazil. E-mail: marcellebuso@gmail.com 4 Postdoctoral in Veterinary Medicine, Departamento de Produção e Saúde Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária de Araçatuba, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (Unesp), Campus de Araçatuba, Rua Clóvis Pestana 793, Jardim Dona Amélia, Araçatuba, SP 16050-680, Brazil. E-mail: carol_borsanelli@yahoo.com.br Chemical and structural composition of black pigmented supragingival biofilm of bovines