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

Abstract

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 340-420o
C. In order to obtain
grade 1 liquid smoke, distillation was subsequently carried out at 190o
C. 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 400^oC and a concentrate of 0.1 mg/ml.