Antibacterial effect of fatty acid salts on oral bacteria

Abstract

Fatty acid salts are a type of surfactant known to have potent antibacterial activity. We therefore examined the antibacterial activities of fatty acid salts against Streptococcus mutans. Potassium caprylate (C10K) , potassium laurate (C12K) , potassium myristate (C14K) , potassium oleate (C18:1K) , potassium linoleate (C18:2K) , and potassium linolenate (C18:3K) , used at a concentration of 175 mM, resulted in a 7 log-unit reduction of S. mutans after a 10-min incubation. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of C18:2K and C18:3K was 5.5 mM. C12K also demonstrated high antibacterial activity (MIC of 21.9 mM). These results indicate that C12K, C18:2K, and C18:3K have high antibacterial activity against S. mutans, and possess great potential as antibacterial agents.