Teach Soap

During my research into coconut oil's health benefits, I read that monolaurin - derived from lauric acid - has strong antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity. I am beginning to wonder if (assuming it can be obtained easily enough) it might be a very useful addition to creams, etc., as a preservative?
http://www.amazon.com/Lauricidin%C2%AE- ... B004I8SMOQ
Disclaimer: I have no relationship or experience with any vendor of this substance.

I think I might buy some as an experiment, make a cream with zero preservative, add monolaurin in different % to sample jars, and leave them open to see which get colonised ... then perhaps if any appear clear, take them to the microbiology lab to get them checked.

It looks interesting, but you would most likely needs this at a high % for it to have any preservative properties. Since it's derived from lauric acid, I wonder if you would need to adjust the pH of the lotion, or it might be used as an adjunct to other preservatives.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

http://www.touroinstitute.com/natural%2 ... icidal.pdf - a study quoted by a doctor, with references. Interesting.
Very difficult to find confirmed studies on this.