A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE UTILIZATION OF LIQUID SMOKE FROM PALM KERNEL SHELLS FOR ORGANIC MOUTHWASH

Abstract

© Int. J. of GEOMATE. Palm kernel shells are a waste product of the palm oil industry. They have a high content of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, all of which can be converted through a pyrolysis process into liquid smoke that contains the oxidized organic compounds, ketones, aldehydes, phenols, and carboxylic acid groups with antimicrobial properties. The objective of this research is to study the potential use of grade 1 liquid smoke as organic mouthwash. This research considers liquid smoke's antimicrobial properties and focuses on analyzing its ability to inhibit the growth of streptococcus mutans living in the oral cavity. The liquid smoke used was produced by pyrolysis performed in temperatures of 340-420oC. In order to obtain grade 1 liquid smoke, distillation was subsequently carried out at 190oC. The ability of the produced liquid smoke to inhibit streptococcus mutans was then tested for its minimum inhibitory concentration and diameter of inhibitory region. Both minimum inhibitory concentration and diameter of inhibitory region tests were performed with a liquid smoke concentration of 0.005-0.1 mg/ml. Test results of the minimum inhibitory concentration showed that the liquid smoke possesses good antimicrobial properties against streptococcus mutans, while test results of the diameter of inhibitory region was medium at 6-9 mm. The highest diameter of inhibitory region was obtained from liquid smoke created from pyrolysis performed at 400oC and a concentrate of 0.1 mg/ml.