Fatty acid evaluation and antimicrobial activity of virgin coconut oil and activated virgin coconut oil on streptococcus mutans

For decades, coconut oil was reported to possess a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity due to its abundant fatty acid’s contents. Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) has been strongly implicated as the main etiological factor in dental caries. Regardless of the ongoing medical advances, the therapeutic resources for dental caries remain ineffectual, and this has led to renewed interest in using virgin coconut oil (VCO) as a possible choice for dental caries control. In this study, the ability of VCO and activated virgin coconut oil (AVCO) combatting cariogenic S. mutans ATCC 25175 has been evaluated. Fatty acids contents were compared through Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrum (GC-MS) analysis, and their antimicrobial activity was determined using disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. From the GC-MS analysis, AVCO (59%) was found to have a slightly higher medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) as compared to VCO (54.1%), and the long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) contents in VCO (45.9%) was found to be higher than AVCO (41%). Interestingly, S. mutans ATCC 25175 was found to be susceptible towards AVCO (MIC: 6.24 mg/ml) and resistance towards VCO in vitro. The excellent antimicrobial activity of AVCO as a result from (i) the release of individuals fatty acids after activation of virgin coconut oil by lipase digestion and (ii) the present of MCFA and LCFA that are significant in antimicrobial activity. Further study can be designed to specifically examine the activity of individuals fatty acids present in oils against S.mutans virulence genes/protein using molecular dynamic assessment

Mechanism of antifungal activity of virgin coconut oil on cell membrane of Candida Albicans

Oral candidiasis is typically caused by diploid yeast, Candida albicans through the colonization of the yeast. Which may cause oral tissue damage and tissue invasion. The limitation of antifungal drugs such as problem with resistance development has led researchers to investigate the potential use of natural product as new target for antifungal drug development. The aim of this study is to identify the components cytoplasmic release and the morphology of C. albicans in the presence of activated virgin coconut oil (AVCO) and the crude extract of virgin coconut oil (VCO). The fungal suspensions were treated with AVCO and VCO while nystatin and 1% Tween were used as a positive and a negative control respectively. Treatment with AVCO has caused disruption of the cell membrane of C. albicans which leads to the leakage of the cytoplasmic contents while treatment with VCO which did not show any changes on the cell membrane of C. albicans after 4 h of exposure. Our results suggest the potential use of AVCO as a novel antifungal agent to control oral candidiasis and it is likely to become an alternative for conventional drugs available in the market

The comparative antimicrobial effect of Activated Virgin Coconut Oil (AVCO) and Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) against dental caries-related pathogens

The present-day diet is astoundingly cariogenic, owing to the fact that high food intake with plenty of fermentable carbohydrates present in them. Classic regime against dental caries such as fluoride is often not able to cope with the resultant massive cariogenic challenge. Therefore, demands of alternatives for the classic regime in arresting issues related to oral health are always on the increase. In contemplation to improve and further develop novel antimicrobial compound, a great deal of research has gone into optimizing a lot of components presently available in natural sources which may help to contribute to the antimicrobial activity. The virgin coconut oil (VCO) is a case in point and has been the focus for decades as it has proven to possess antimicrobial features on Gram positive bacteria. Recently, there is a patterned Activated Virgin Coconut Oil (AVCO) that reported to have a broad antimicrobial spectrum. However, information regarding the inhibitory of AVCO and VCO against dental caries-related pathogens are yet to be established. In this study, we compared the antimicrobial effect of AVCO obtained from KL trading, Selangor, Malaysia, and VCO extracted in our laboratory. Their MIC and MBC against the selected dental caries-related pathogen; Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus casei and Candida albicans were determined. Out of the three tested organisms, L. casei was subjected to have a higher sensitivity towards AVCO (MIC: 0.78 mg/ml and MBC: 1.56mg/ml), followed by C. albicans (MIC: 3.12 mg/ml and MBC: 6.24 mg/ml) and S. mutans (MIC: 6.24 mg/ml and MBC: 24.96 mg/ml). In contrast to a positive finding of AVCO, VCO has shown no inhibitory effect on all tested dental caries-related pathogens. Furthermore, the time killing assay revealed that AVCO showed relatively quick-killing activity at the 8 hours of time for all tested organism. These finding correlates with that of AVCO possess bactericidal activity, thereby allowing the possible classification of the AVCO as being a bactericidal agent

Application of direct fluorescence-based live/dead staining for assessment of antifungal activity of coconut oil against candida albicans

Candida albicans is one of the common causes for oral candidiasis worldwide. The proliferation of antifungal-resistant C. albicans has become a major concern. This study was carried out to evaluate activated virgin coconut oil (AVCO) and crude extract of virgin coconut oil (VCO) as new antifungal agents for treatment of oral candidiasis. C. albicans viability was determined using LIVE/DEAD bacterial viability kit. C. albicans cells were grown in yeast peptone dextrose (YPD) broth overnight. The fungus was treated with AVCO and VCO at the concentration of minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of 6.24 mg/mL and incubated for three different time points (1, 2, and 3 h). To evaluate the viability of C. albicans, SYTO 9 and propidium iodide (PI) staining were used and the cells were observed using fluorescence microscopy. C. albicans treated with AVCO showed more dead cells compared to cells treated with VCO. The data indicate that exposure of C. albicans to AVCO was the most inhibitory to its growth (p < 0.01)

Analysis on the inhibition of periodontal pathogens and its virulence genes expression by virgin coconut oil using quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR)

Introduction: Dental caries has remained a major oral health problem worldwide. Streptococcus mutans is considered as a vital cariogenic agent in the oral cavity. It can synthesise soluble and insoluble glucans from sucrose by glucosyltransferases enzymes and develops stable biofilm on the tooth surface. In the previous study, the fatty acids profile of activated virgin coconut oil (AVCO) have been described, and it includes the excellent antimicrobial activity of the oil. The current study aims to evaluate the antibiofilm effect of AVCO against the Streptococcus mutans ATCC 2157 biofilm in vitro. Materials and method: The minimum biofilm inhibition concentration (MBIC) and the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) for antibiofilm activity were determined by serial dilution method, and biofilm thickness on S. mutans was quantified by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Results: At the concentra-tion of 15.63 mg/ml of AVCO, it successfully inhibits the development of S. mutans ATCC 21575 biofilm and AVCO (62.52 mg/ml) eradicate biofilm that was formed by the bacteria. The z-stack images obtained from CLSM allows the construction of 3-D biofilm structure and a significant difference in the thickness of S. mutans ATCC 21575 biofilm pre and post-treatment with AVCO were observed. Conclusion: AVCO showed good potential as anticaries where it possesses the ability to inhibits and eradicate S. mutans ATCC 21575 biofilm. A future study to evaluates the interaction of individuals fatty acids present in AVCO against proteins that relate to biofilm formation of S. mutans can be performed utilising the molecular docking tools