Antimicrobial Effects of Coconut Oil on Athletic Foot
Keywords:
Antimicrobial, Coconut, Oil, Foot, AthleticAbstract
Coconut oil, and many other portions of the plant Cocos nucifera L, have been hypothesized to have antimicrobial and antifungal activity. Medium-chain fatty acid constituents of coconut oil including lauric acid, capric acid, and others provide antimicrobial effect. This study evaluates the effect of coconut oil on athletes’ foot and describes the proposed use of coconut products for athletes foot. Samples were collected from students of who are always putting on covered shoes using sterile cotton swabs, swabbed over the foot between the toes, and were immediately transferred for analysis. The bacteria isolates were Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella spp while the fungal isolates were Rhizopus spp, Candida spp, Penicillium spp, Trichophytum spp and Aspergillus spp. Out the 100-subject sampled, 46 of them were within the age range of 19 – 21 years which where the highest group in the study, while those within the age range of 16 – 18 years and 22 – 25 years where 27 in each group. From the study, the coconut oil extract had effects on the fungus with Aspergillus spp having zone of inhibition (ZI) of 21mm which was the highest ZI in the group of fungi isolated followed by Penicillium spp (18mm), Candida spp (16.8mm), Trichophytum spp (15.1mm) and Rhizopus spp (11mm) which was the least inhibited. In conclusion, the results obtained in this study have elucidated the use of coconut oil in complementary and alternative medicine, especially in this era of emerging drug-resistant Candida species and other forms of microorganisms.
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