| abstract |
An oral care composition for reducing colonization of the oral cavity by plaque and disease-causing microorganisms, includes saccharides containing cis-hydroxy sugar units or a derivative thereof. The oral care composition is a dentifrice, mouthwash, chewing gum or a lozenge. The saccharides include monomeric sugars with the cis-hydroxy stereoisomeric structure, polysaccharides, which include such sugars as food gums and their partially hydrolyzed reaction products. The cis-hydroxy saccharides are, for example, mannose, a mannose derivative, galactose, a galactose derivative, galactomannans, galactosarnine, fucose, arabinose, and rhamnose, and the food gums, and hydrolyzates thereof that include them are xanthan, konjac, guar gum, locust bean gum, tara bean gum and carrageenan. |