Is there antimicrobial property of coconut oil and lauric acid against fish pathogen?

This study evaluated in vitro the antimicrobial activity of virgin coconut oil (VCO) and lauric acid (LA) against three fish pathogens (Aeromonas hydrophila, Saprolegnia parasitica and Ichthyophthirius multifiliis). The experiments occurred in completely randomized design with five concentration for pathogen to determine lethal concentration. All data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc Tukey test (p <= 0.05). Virgin coconut oil (VCO) and lauric acid (LA) affected the fungal and bacterial growth. Only the lauric acid (LA) prevent the mycelial growth (r(2) = 0.94) while the virgin coconut oil (VCO) reduced it. However, none treatment (VCO and LA) promoted fungicidal effect. Lauric acid provoked complete mortality (100%) of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis at concentration 40 mg.L-1 while the virgin coconut oil only reduced its development with 386.71 mu L.L-1 (equivalent to the LA 200 mg.L-1). In the bacterial assy, both VCO and LA caused reduced the colonies amount, but they have no any inhibition halo against the bacterium. The results suggest positive effect to control the pathogen development with greater effects using lauric acid.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of virgin coconut oil (VCO) and lauric acid (LA) against three fish pathogens. The results showed that lauric acid had a stronger effect in controlling the pathogen development.