Factors affecting formation of nanoemulsions containing modified coconut oil and spearmint oil

摘要

Dental caries is one of the major oral health problems in mostcountries, affecting more than 50% of school children and majorityof adults. Normally, we can prevent the disease byutilization of suitable antiseptics, e.g. alcohols and chlorhexidine[1]. However, most antiseptics cause irritation or straining ofthe mucous membrane and teeth. Therefore, finding a moresafe and efficient antiseptics is still a matter of interest to eradicatethe causative pathogen.Volatile oils from plants includingspearmint oil (SMO) could reduce the number of Streptococcusmutans counts in plaques and saliva. Recently, modified coconutoil (MCO) was also introduced as an alternative antimicrobialagent against various microbes. However, the oils are difficultto incorporate into aqueous solutions for oraladministration because they have a limited water solubility.Thus, the development of alternative dosage forms should befurther investigated. Nanoemulsions are one of the popularsystems since they are compatible with water, can be easilyremoved, are safe and a large amount of oils could be loaded[2]. Therefore, formulation of spearmint and MCO intonanoemulsions should be a possible troubleshooting.