Search Here

Already known to be beneficial for skin and hair, coconut oil, according to researchers, can also do wonders for a healthy mouth. 

A new study suggests that coconut could help fight the germs that cause tooth decay. The findings, could perhaps pave way for toothpastes and mouthwashes with coconut as one of the ingredients. 

For the study, the researchers tested the effects of coconut oil on Streptococcus mutans - a sugar-loving bacterium which infects the teeth and produces acids which cause them to decay, Mail Online reported.

It was found that when treated with digestive enzymes, coconut oil turned into a powerful killer of the germs.

"Dental caries is a commonly overlooked health problem affecting 60 to 90 per cent of children and the majority of adults in industrialized countries. 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," lead researcher Dr Damien Brady, of the Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland was quoted as saying by Mail Online.

Brady also added that the findings of the current study could be particularly important since such germs have already developed resistance to many of the existing antibiotic treatments presently available in the market.

The current study was conducted as a follow up to previous research which has shown that partially digested milk made S. mutans less likely to stick to tooth enamel.

"Our data suggests that products of human digestion show antimicrobial activity. This could have implications for how bacteria colonise the cells lining the digestive tract and for overall gut health," Brady said.

Further research will study the interaction of coconut oil interacts with the bacteria at the molecular level, and will look at which other bacteria it could possibly kill.

According to the test results, enzyme-treated coconut oil is already found to be effective in combating Candida albicans, which causes thrush.

The findings were presented at the Autumn meeting of the Society for General Microbiology at the University of Warwick.