Donal oMathuna, Ph.D., School of Nursing, Dublin City University has reported a research involving results from use of ‘Triphala’ as a mouthwash in school-children.
Triphala has been extensively used for lowering blood cholesterol, and has many potential benefits on blood lipids, according to Donal OMathuna. The author also reports that ‘triphala’ contains Vitamin C, various anti-oxidants and number of other ingredients.
“The antimicrobial effects of triphala have received some attention from researchers. Laboratory studies have shown that triphala is active against a broad spectrum of micro-organisms that are involved in microbial infections. A study published in 2010 found that triphala was active against microbes isolated from hospital patients, suggesting that the extract might be useful against microbes resistant to antibiotics. A group of tannins found in the extracts are believed to be the active ingredients. These are able to combine with microbial enzymes to prevent them from working properly.” reported the author.
The research that has been published in 2010 was carried out in 1500-primary school children in India with the aim to examine the usefulness of triphala as a mouthwash to examine dental caries.
“In this study, the children used a mouthwash which contained either triphala extract, chlorhexidine (a common component in popular mouthwashes) or distilled water. After nine months, those using distilled water had significantly increased scores on measures of dental caries. In contrast, those using triphala or chlorhexidine mouthwash had similar reductions in the incidence of caries.” he added.
“The authors concluded that since the two mouthwashes were similarly effective, but triphala was much less expensive, that triphala could be recommended for dental hygiene.” wrote DonalO’mathuna
