Half a million different plant species are occurring worldwide, of which only 1% has been phytochemically considered. Thus, there is great potential for discovering novel bioactive compounds. In dentistry, herbal extracts have been used as antimicrobial agents, analgesics, and intracanal medicaments. Glass-ionomer cement (GIC) and bioactive glass (BAG) are attractive materials in dentistry due to their bioactivity, adhesion, and remineralisation capabilities. Thus, this review summarizes the evidence around the use of phytotherapeutics in dental glass-based materials. This review article covers the structure, properties, and clinical uses of GIC and BAG materials within dentistry, with an emphasis on all the attempts that have been made in the last 20 years to enhance their properties naturally using the wisdom of traditional medicines. An extensive electronic search was performed across four databases to include published articles in the last 20 years and the search was concerned only with the English language publications. Publications that involved the use of plant extracts, and their active compounds for the green synthesis of nanoparticles and the modification of GIC and BAG were included up to May 2023. Plant extracts are a potential and effective candidate for modification of different properties of GIC and BAG, particularly their antimicrobial activities. Moreover, natural plant extracts have shown to be very effective in the green synthesis of metal ion nanoparticles in an ecological, and easy way with the additional advantage of a synergistic effect between metal ions and the phytotherapeutic agents. Medicinal plants are considered an abundant, cheap source of biologically active compounds and many of these phytotherapeutics have been the base for the development of new lead pharmaceuticals. Further research is required to assess the safety and the importance of regulation of phytotherapeutics to expand their use in medicine.

Graphical Abstract

中文翻译：

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牙科中的草药学和玻璃基材料：对当前技术水平的回顾

全世界有 50 万种不同的植物物种，其中只有 1% 经过植物化学研究。因此，发现新型生物活性化合物具有巨大的潜力。在牙科领域，草药提取物已被用作抗菌剂、镇痛剂和根管内药物。玻璃离子水门汀 (GIC) 和生物活性玻璃 (BAG) 因其生物活性、粘附力和再矿化能力而成为牙科领域颇具吸引力的材料。因此，本综述总结了在牙科玻璃材料中使用植物治疗剂的证据。这篇综述文章涵盖了 GIC 和 BAG 材料在牙科领域的结构、特性和临床用途，重点介绍了过去 20 年来利用传统医学智慧自然增强其特性的所有尝试。对四个数据库进行了广泛的电子检索，包括过去 20 年发表的文章，并且检索仅涉及英文出版物。截至 2023 年 5 月，涉及使用植物提取物及其活性化合物绿色合成纳米粒子以及修饰 GIC 和 BAG 的出版物均已收录。植物提取物是修饰 GIC 和 BAG 不同特性的潜在且有效的候选者，特别是它们的抗菌活性。此外，天然植物提取物已被证明在以生态且简单的方式绿色合成金属离子纳米粒子方面非常有效，并具有金属离子和植物治疗剂之间的协同效应的额外优势。药用植物被认为是生物活性化合物的丰富且廉价的来源，其中许多植物治疗剂已成为开发新的先导药物的基础。需要进一步的研究来评估植物治疗药物的安全性和监管的重要性，以扩大其在医学中的用途。

图形概要