Coconut Oil Fights Deadly Yeast Infections, Study Suggests

A common food oil has been found to have potent antifungal properties that could literally save lives. 

The coconut palm is perhaps the world’s most widely distributed and versatile food-medicine, and has been prized and even revered by indigenous cultures for a wide range of health complaints since time immemorial. Increasingly, scientific evidence is emerging validating its traditionally ascribed health benefits, and more, including supporting brain health, protecting the heart, and even reducing stress and depression.

Now, a new study led by researchers at Tufts University has found that coconut oil is highly effective at controlling the overgrowth of the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans in mice.

Published in the American Society for Microbiology’s journal mSphere and titled, “Manipulation of Host Diet to Reduce Gastrointestinal Colonization by the Opportunistic Pathogen Candida Albicans,” the study identified C. albicans as the most common human pathogen, with a mortality rate of about 40% when causing systemic infections.

C. albicans is normally present in the human gastrointestinal tract, but antibiotics can destroy commensal bacteria that normally keep Candida populations within a healthy range. According to the study, compromised immunity is also a major cause of C. albicans overgrowth, and  “Systemic infections caused by C. albicans can lead to invasive candidiasis, which is the fourth most common blood infection among hospitalized patients in the United States according to the CDC.”

Conventional anti-fungal drugs carry with them significant risk of adverse effects, and their repeated use leads to the development of drug resistant strains of fungal pathogens, making natural approaches all the more attractive. The researchers hypothesized that a coconut-based dietary intervention might reduce Candida infection in mice. The study design and results were reported on ScienceDaily.com as follows:

The team, led by microbiologist Carol Kumamoto and nutrition scientist Alice H. Lichtenstein, investigated the effects of three different dietary fats on the amount of C. albicans in the mouse gut: coconut oil, beef tallow and soybean oil. A control group of mice were fed a standard diet for mice. Coconut oil was selected based on previous studies that found that the fat had antifungal properties in the laboratory setting.

A coconut oil-rich diet reduced C. albicans in the gut compared to a beef tallow-or soybean oil-rich diet. Coconut oil alone, or the combination of coconut oil and beef tallow, reduced the amount of C. albicans in the gut by more than 90% compared to a beef tallow-rich diet.

“Coconut oil even reduced fungal colonization when mice were switched from beef tallow to coconut oil, or when mice were fed both beef tallow and coconut oil at the same time. These findings suggest that adding coconut oil to a patient’s existing diet might control the growth of C. albicans in the gut, and possibly decrease the risk of fungal infections caused by C. albicans,” said Kumamoto, Ph.D., a professor of molecular biology and microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine and member of the molecular microbiology and genetics program faculties at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences.

These preliminary results have profound implications for the practice of medicine, according to a statement made to ScienceDaily by Alice H LIchtenstein, D.Sc., director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University:

“This study marks a first step in understanding how life-threatening yeast infections in susceptible individuals might be reduced through the short-term and targeted use of a specific type of fat. As exciting as these findings are, we have to keep in mind that the majority of adult Americans are at high risk for heart disease, the number one killer in the U.S. The potential use of coconut oil in the short term to control the rate of fungal overgrowth should not be considered a prophylactic approach to preventing fungal infections.”

The first author of the study, Kearney Gunsalus, Ph.D. an Institutional Research and Academic Career Development (IRACDA) postdoctoral fellow at the Sackler School in Kumamoto’s lab, also offered his opinion on the study implications:

“We want to give clinicians a treatment option that might limit the need for antifungal drugs. If we can use coconut oil as a safe, dietary alternative, we could decrease the amount of antifungal drugs used, reserving antifungal drugs for critical situations.”

Previous research, available to view on GreenMedInfo.com, indicates that coconut oil is also an effective anti-fungal agent against the growth of dermatophytes, a type of yeast which can cause infections of the skin, nails, and hair because they can utilize keratin.

For more research on the health benefits of coconut oil, view our database section on the topic here. For more research on natural interventions to prevent and/or treat Candida infection, view our database on the topic here.

© December 22, 2017 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Coconut Oil Fights Deadly Yeast Infections, Study Suggests appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Fighting Fungus: Cleansing with Jatoba

Jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril) is a tree indigenous to the Amazon rainforest and Central America that can grow up to 90 feet tall and contributes to the rainforest canopy. Jatoba produces a dense, hardwood that is durable and termite resistant, making it very useful for carpentry, flooring, and furniture. One of the most interesting things about wild jatoba is that when the tree’s life cycle is finished and the tree dies, unlike most other rainforest trees, the wood of the jatoba tree does not rot.

This observation of its resistance to mold and fungus has predicated inquisitions into the therapeutic qualities of jatoba… of which there are several. In fact, jatoba has been used for therapeutic purposes by traditional medicine practitioners for many problems, including diarrhea, hepatitis, bronchitis, and coughs.

Many of Jatoba’s benefits are related to its toxicity against harmful organisms, including yeast, viruses, fungi and bacteria and most of its beneficial compounds are located within its bark. Not only does jatoba present itself as fierce opposition to harmful organisms, but also to swelling, as jatoba contains a wide variety of active compounds and phytochemicals that have demonstrated an ability to fight redness and irritation. ^[1] Traditional preparation is a tea prepared from the bark or a tincture which can be used for a variety of health conditions, including the candida fungus.

Jatoba and Harmful Organisms

Jatoba is probably best known for its strength against fungi, including candida. However, research has shown jatoba to be toxic to other harmful organisms as well. In a Brazilian study designed to investigate jatoba for activity against the simian rotavirus, jatoba was active and described by researchers as definitely worthy of additional research. ^[2] Test tube evaluations of jatoba, performed by the Institut für Pharmazie at Freie Universität in Berlin Germany, have shown that jatoba is active against plasmodium (harmful organism). ^[3]

Jatoba and Fungus

The compounds in jatoba are known to possess a strong resistance to fungus and yeast, which has caused some persons and researchers to approach it with extreme interest as a very effective topical application for addressing fungal infections such as candida, athlete’s foot, and nail fungus. ^[4] [5]

Jatoba can also be taken internally and may offer relief for symptoms of chronic problems which are believed to be fungal in their origin and do not respond to harsh prescriptions. It is in these instances where a natural, fungus resistant compound like jatoba has generated high interest. ^[6]

References (6)

1. Marin AM, Siqueira EM, Arruda SF. Minerals, phytic acid and tannin contents of 18 fruits from the Brazilian savanna. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2009;60 Suppl 7:180-90. doi: 10.1080/09637480902789342. Epub 2009 Apr 6.


2. Cecílio AB, de Faria DB, Oliveira Pde C, Caldas S, de Oliveira DA, Sobral ME, Duarte MG, Moreira CP, Silva CG, de Almeida VL. Screening of Brazilian medicinal plants for antiviral activity against rotavirus. J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Jun 14;141(3):975-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.03.031. Epub 2012 Mar 26.


3. Köhler I, Jenett-Siems K, Siems K, Hernández MA, Ibarra RA, Berendsohn WG, Bienzle U, Eich E. In vitro antiplasmodial investigation of medicinal plants from El Salvador. Z Naturforsch C. 2002 Mar-Apr;57(3-4):277-81.


4. Raintree Nutrition Inc. Biological activities for extracts of Jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril) (PDF). Jatoba Plant Database File. 2004.


5. L. Rahalison, M. Hamburger, K. Hostettmann, M. Monod, E. Frenk, M. P. Gupta, A. I. Santana, M.D. Correa, A. G. Gonzalez. Screening for antifungal activity of panamanian plants. Pharmaceutical Biology. 1993. vol. 31, no.1 pages 68-76(doi:10.3109/13880209309082921).


6. Raintree. Jatoba. Tropical Plant Database.