AsianScientist (Sep. 4, 2012) – Digested coconut oil is a natural antibiotic that may help to fight tooth decay, say scientists from the Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland.
The scientists presented their data at the Society for General Microbiology’s Autumn Conference taking place this week at the University of Warwick.
As Streptococcus bacteria are common inhabitants of the mouth, the team tested the antibacterial action of coconut oil against strains of this bacteria.
Two versions of coconut oil were used in the study: coconut oil in its natural state and coconut oil that had been treated with enzymes, in a process similar to digestion.
Previous studies have shown that partially digested foodstuffs are active against micro-organisms, and the researchers’ earlier work on enzyme-modified milk showed that it was able to reduce the binding of S. mutans to tooth enamel, which prompted the group to investigate the effect of other enzyme-modified foods on bacteria.
As hypothesized, only the enzyme-modified coconut oil strongly inhibited the growth of most strains of Streptococcus bacteria including Streptococcus mutans – an acid-producing bacterium that is a major cause of tooth decay.
Enzyme-modified coconut oil could be incorporated into commercial dental care products as a natural antimicrobial, said Dr. Damien Brady who is leading the research.
“Dental caries is a commonly overlooked health problem affecting 60 to 90 percent of children and the majority of adults in industrialized countries,” said Brady.
“Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives, particularly as it works at relatively low concentrations. Also, with increasing antibiotic resistance, it is important that we turn our attention to new ways to combat microbial infection.”
The team hopes to investigate the link between products of human digestion and antimicrobial activity in the human gut, said Brady.
Further work will also examine how coconut oil interacts with Streptococcus bacteria at the molecular level and which other strains of harmful bacteria and yeasts it is active against.
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Source: Society for General Microbiology; Photo: muhawi001/Flickr/CC.
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