Neonatology: coconut oil can enhance the immunity of premature infants

August 28, 2019 / BIOON / - recently, coconut oil has changed the health and skin condition of premature infants in Western Australia, and new research reveals the reasons Dr Andrew Currie of Murdoch University and Tobias Strunk, a clinical professor at King Edward Memorial Hospital, have been studying the reasons why coconut oil is effective for vulnerable premature infants "Our recent clinical trials have shown that applying coconut oil twice a day to the skin of preterm infants can safely and effectively improve skin conditions It's also a great opportunity for parents to participate in the care of their children, and it's very affordable, "said Professor Strunk "We also note that coconut oil can reduce the risk of infection in these vulnerable infants, and we hope to learn more about this mechanism "Photo source: https://cn.bing.com antibacterial test researchers, in collaboration with Dr Joel gummer of Murdoch University, have developed a new test method to measure the level of lauric acid glycerides in coconut oil and baby blood treated with coconut oil Monolaurate is a kind of antibacterial substance Dr Sam Abraham, of the antimicrobial resistance laboratory at Murdoch University, was also involved in the project They tested the effect of glyceryl laurate on common bacterial diseases in newborns, such as the skin bacterium Staphylococcus aureus "First of all, we found that the content of lauryl glycerides in coconut oil from different suppliers was different, and we found that the content of clinical grade products was the highest These are high enough to have antibacterial properties in the test "Clinical professor Strunk said "After that, we found a significant increase in the blood levels of lauroyl esters in premature infants treated with coconut oil This suggests that the application of coconut oil on the skin of these infants contributes to the absorption of glyceryl laurate, which may help explain the lower risk of infection in the treated infants "More than 15 million babies are born prematurely each year (11% of all pregnancies), and they are very vulnerable to infection The impact on life-long health Dr Currie said that by reducing the need for early antibiotic use, improving the immunity of preterm infants will have an impact on their life-long health "Antibiotics have a significant impact on the development of intestinal microflora in infants and can have a wide range of life-long consequences," he said "At present, Australia and New Zealand are preparing to conduct a national multicenter cluster randomized trial on premature coconut oil The researchers will conduct a study of healthy adult volunteers to confirm their findings and explore the use of coconut oil in the treatment of burned children The study was published in the journal neonatology Reference: Tobias Strunk et al Topical coconut oil in very preterm influences: an open label randomised controlled trial, neonatology (2017) Doi: 10.1159/000480538