Coconut oil may prevent tooth decay, study says

In spite some of the properties and health benefits of Coconut oil have been extensively broadcasted by the media (fighting Alzheimer's disease for example), some others have not yet been mentioned, mainly due to the fact that they were so far "unknown properties" that coconut oil was never thought to exert.

One of this properties refers to the ability that Coconut oil has to fight certain types of bacteria, among them some strains of Streptococcus bacteria which are common inhabitants of the mouth [14].

It was already known that digested coconut oil is able to attack the bacteria causing tooth decay, however, it wasn't until now that researchers from Athione Institute of Technology found how 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 [14]. Image left: Coconut oil by Phu Thinh Co under Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 2.0).

COCOS NUCIFERA

Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Cocos
Common name: Coconut

But this property exerted by Coconut oil is not new and certainly not exclusive to coconut oil, other herbs and natural products have proven to be effective when partially digested against many bacterial strains, including Streptococcus mutans, as for example Garlic (Allium sativum), effective for the treatment of many groups of bacteria, as Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Actinomyces oris among many others [16].

We have to highlight that the research has also proven how the enzyme-modified coconut oil was also harmful to the yeast Candida albicans that can cause thrush, also known as oral candidiasis, an infection of yeast fungi of the genus Candida [14]. Image right: Coconut oil extracting machine by Tracy Hunter under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0).

The MSc project is being carried out by Patricia Hughes, supervised by Dr Brady and Prof Neil Rowan at AIT. Ms Hughes graduated with a degree in veterinary nursing in 2009 from Athlone Institute of Technology [14].

REFERENCES

[1] Ketone bodies as a therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease. Henderson ST. Accera, Inc., Broomfield, Colorado 80021, USA.

[2] Protective effects of positive lysosomal modulation in Alzheimer's disease transgenic mouse models. Butler D, Hwang J, Estick C, Nishiyama A, Kumar SS, Baveghems C, Young-Oxendine HB, Wisniewski ML, Charalambides A, Bahr BA. Neurosciences Program, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America.

[3] Advanced Human Nutrition By Medeiros, Robert E. C. Wildman, Ph.D.

[4] Feed your brain loose your belly by Larry McCleary, MD.

[5] Hasselbalch et al., 1994.

[6] Handbook of neurochemistry and molecular neurobiology: Brain Energetics. Integration of Molecular and Cellular Processes, Volume 2. By Gary E. Gibson, Gerald A. Dienel

[7] Essential Biochemistry for Medicine By Mitchell Fry

[8] CNB.COM on http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/mp4/LJO190v1_WS

[9] Ketones: metabolism's ugly duckling. VanItallie TB, Nufert TH. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, 10025, USA.

[10] Neuroprotective effects of curcumin. Li Y, Wang P. Herbal Pharmacology Laboratory, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of 
Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.

[11] Ketogenicity of soybean oil, coconut oil and their respective fatty acids for the chick.Young SJ, Renner R.

[12] An in vitro study of the effect of some dietary components on calculus formation: regulation of calcium phosphate precipitation.
Hidaka S, Oishi A.
Department of Dental Hygiene, Fukuoka College of Health Sciences, Fukuoka, Japan

[13] Efficacy of sodium hypochlorite and coconut soap used as disinfecting agents in the reduction of denture stomatitis, Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans.
Barnabé W, de Mendonça Neto T, Pimenta FC, Pegoraro LF, Scolaro JM.
Department of Prosthodontics, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

[14] ATI Press release "AIT researchers show coconut oil could combat tooth"  decay.

[15] Plant names via University of Melbourne http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Cocos.html

[16] Garlic Allicin as a Potential Agent for Controlling Oral Pathogens. Bachrach G, Jamil A, Naor R, Tal G, Ludmer Z, Steinberg D. Institute of Dental Sciences, The Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine , Jerusalem, Israel