Compendium of the most significant studies with reference to properties, intake, effects.

Omura Y, O'Young B, Jones M, Pallos A, Duvvi H, Shimotsuura Y. Caprylic acid in the effective treatment of intractable medical problems of frequent urination, incontinence, chronic upper respiratory infection, root canalled tooth infection, ALS, etc., caused by asbestos & mixed infections of Candida albicans, Helicobacter pylori & cytomegalovirus with or without other microorganisms & mercury. Acupunct Electrother Res. 2011;36(1-2):19-64. doi: 10.3727/036012911803860886. 

Abstract. There are many causes of frequent urination. Whenever water or fluids are consumed, the patient has to urinate within 10 or 20 min. Often urinary bladder examinations & blood tests show no significant abnormalities, & treatment by anti-bacterial or anti-viral agents does not improve the symptoms significantly. In intractable frequent urination with difficulty holding urine, as well as other intractable medical problems such as frequent coughing, white pus in gingiva, infection of the apex of a root canalled tooth, slow-healing wounds, & ALS, the authors often found coexisting mixed infections of Candida albicans (C.A.), Helicobacter pylori (H.P.), & Cytomegalovirus (CMV) with or without additional bacterial (Chlamydia trachomatis, etc.) or viral infections & increased Asbestos, with or without Hg deposits. We often found various degrees of mixed infections with C.A., H.P., & CMV in the external sphincters of the urethra & in the Trigone of the urinary bladder which consists of (1) a horizontal, band-like area between the 2 ureter openings & (2) the funnel shaped part of the Trigone at the lower half of the urinary bladder. In the coexistence of significant amounts of C.A., H.P. & CMV, the infection cannot be reduced by otherwise effective medicines for H.P. & CMV. However, one optimal dose of Diflucan, or Caprylic acid taken orally or externally applied, rapidly reduced the symptoms significantly. We found the best treatment is to give a combination of an optimal dose of Caprylic acid orally in the form of "CaprilyCare" or "Caprylic Acid," with a capsule of Omega-3 Fish Oil as an anti-viral agent, Amoxicillin, Substance Z & a Cilantro tablet. We found that an optimal dose of Caprylic acid increases normal cell telomere (NCT) to a desirable 750 ng BDORT units while Diflucan increases NCT by only 25 ng BDORT units, & with Omega-3 fish oil, leads to a mutual cancellation of both drugs. Thus, Caprylic acid is superior to & less expensive than Diflucan, & has potential application for anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-Alzheimer's disease, anti-Autism, anti-infection, & general circulatory improvement.

Rosenblatt J, Reitzel RA, Vargas-Cruz N, Chaftari AM, Hachem R, Raad I. Caprylic and Polygalacturonic Acid Combinations for Eradication of Microbial Organisms Embedded in Biofilm. Front Microbiol. 2017 Oct 18;8:1999. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01999. 

Abstract. There is a need for non-antibiotic, antimicrobial compositions with low toxicity capable of broad-spectrum eradication of pathogenic biofilms in food preparation and healthcare settings. In this study we demonstrated complete biofilm eradication within 60 min with synergistic combinations of caprylic and polygalacturonic (PG) acids in an in vitro biofilm eradication model against representative hospital and foodborne infectious pathogen biofilms (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enteritidis). Antimicrobial synergy against biofilms was demonstrated by quantifying viable organisms remaining in biofilms exposed to caprylic acid alone, PG acid alone, or combinations of the two. The combinations also synergistically inhibited growth of planktonic organisms. Toxicity of the combination was assessed in vitro on L929 fibroblasts incubated with extracts of caprylic and PG acid combinations using the Alamar Blue metabolic activity assay and the Trypan Blue exclusion cell viability assay. The extracts did not produce cytotoxic responses relative to untreated control fibroblasts.

Kim JJ, Kim HK. Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activity of Caprylic Acid Vanillyl Ester Produced by Lipase-Mediated Transesterification. J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021 Feb 28;31(2):317-326. doi: 10.4014/jmb.2010.10018. 

Abstract. Vanillyl alcohol (VA), which is abundant in Vanilla bean, has strong antioxidant activity. However, the use of VA in the food and cosmetics industries is limited, due to its low solubility in emulsion or organic solvents. Meanwhile, medium chain fatty acids and medium chain monoglycerides have antibacterial activity. We synthesized butyric acid vanillyl ester (BAVE) or caprylic acid vanillyl ester (CAVE) from VA with tributyrin or tricaprylin through transesterification reaction using immobilized lipases. BAVE and CAVE scavenged 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals in organic solvents. In addition, BAVE and CAVE decreased the production rate of conjugated diene and triene in the menhaden oil-in-water emulsion system. While BAVE showed no antibacterial activity, CAVE showed antibacterial activity against food spoilage bacteria, including Bacillus coagulans. In this study, the antibacterial activity of vanillyl ester with medium chain fatty acid was first revealed. Zeta potential measurements confirmed that BAVE and CAVE were inserted into B. coagulans membrane. In addition, the propidium iodide uptake assay and fluorescent microscopy showed that CAVE increased B. coagulans membrane permeability. Therefore, CAVE is expected to play an important role in the food and cosmetics industries as a bi-functional material with both antioxidant and antibacterial activities.

Nair, M. K. M., Joy, J., Vasudevan, P., Hinckley, L., Hoagland, T. A., & Venkitanarayanan, K. S. (2005). Antibacterial effect of caprylic acid and monocaprylin on major bacterial mastitis pathogens. Journal of dairy science, 88(10), 3488-3495.

Abstract. Bovine mastitis is the most significant economic drain on the worldwide dairy industry. Concerns regarding poor cure rates, emergence of bacterial resistance, and residues in milk necessitate development of alternative therapeutic approaches to antibiotics for treatment of mastitis. A variety of free fatty acids and their monoglycerides have been reported to exert antimicrobial activity against a wide range of microorganisms. The objective of our study was to examine the efficacy of caprylic acid, a short-chain fatty acid, and its monoglyceride, monocaprylin, to inactivate common mastitis pathogens, including Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. Milk samples containing 50 mM or 100 mM caprylic acid, and 25 mM or 50 mM monocaprylin were inoculated separately with a 3-isolate mixture of each of the 5 pathogens, and incubated at 39°C. Populations of surviving bacteria were determined at 0 min, 1 min, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h of incubation. Both caprylic acid and monocaprylin reduced all 5 pathogens by >5.0 log cfu/mL after 6 h of incubation. Among the bacterial species tested, Strep. agalactiae, Strep. dysgalactiae, and Strep. uberis were most sensitive, and E. coli was most tolerant to caprylic acid and monocaprylin. Results of this study indicate that caprylic acid and monocaprylin should be evaluated as alternatives or adjuncts to antibiotics as intra-mammary infusion to treat bovine mastitis.

Jadhav A, Mortale S, Halbandge S, Jangid P, Patil R, Gade W, Kharat K, Karuppayil SM. The Dietary Food Components Capric Acid and Caprylic Acid Inhibit Virulence Factors in Candida albicans Through Multitargeting. J Med Food. 2017 Nov;20(11):1083-1090. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2017.3971. 

Abstract. Capric acid and caprylic acid are the dietary food components. They are found to inhibit the virulence factors like morphogenesis, adhesion, and biofilm formation in the human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. Our study demonstrated that yeast-to-hyphal signal transduction pathways were affected by capric acid and caprylic acid. The expression profile of genes associated with serum-induced morphogenesis showed reduced expressions of Cdc35, Hwp1, Hst7, and Cph1 by the treatment with both the fatty acids. Cell elongation gene, Ece1, was surprisingly downregulated by 5208-fold by the treatment of caprylic acid. Nrg1 and Tup1, negative regulators of hyphal formation, were overexpressed in presence of capric or caprylic acid. Cell cycle studies revealed that capric and caprylic acids arrested cell cycle at G2/M and S phase. Targeting the virulence factors like yeast-to-hyphal transition is efficacious for treatment of opportunistic fungal infections. This research suggests that both capric and caprylic acid may be effective interventions for treating C. albicans yeast infections.

Jang HI, Rhee MS. Inhibitory effect of caprylic acid and mild heat on Cronobacter spp. (Enterobacter sakazakii) in reconstituted infant formula and determination of injury by flow cytometry. Int J Food Microbiol. 2009 Jul 31;133(1-2):113-20. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2009.05.009. 

Abstract. The combined effects of caprylic acid and mild heat were investigated to ascertain their impact on Cronobacter spp. (E. sakazakii) in reconstituted infant formula. Samples containing a mixture of 3 strains of Cronobacter spp. (10(7) to 10(8) CFU/ml) were prepared with various concentrations of caprylic acid (5, 10, 20, and 30 mM) and were then heated to 45, 50, and 55 degrees C. The inhibitory effect of the combined treatment resulted in a synergistic effect, in which Cronobacter spp. numbers were reduced much more rapidly with increased temperatures and concentrations of caprylic acid. When samples were treated with 30 mM caprylic acid, the time required to reduce Cronobacter spp. cell numbers to an approximate reduction of 7.8 log CFU/ml was 60 min at 45 degrees C, 20 min at 50 degrees C, and 10 min at 55 degrees C. In the validation assay using a low population of Cronobacter spp. (approximately 10(3) log CFU/ml), no recovery of injured cells was observed after samples were treated with 10 mM caprylic acid for 20 min at 55 degrees C, 20 mM caprylic acid for 10 min at 50 degrees C and 55 degrees C, and 30 mM caprylic acid for 10 min at 45 degrees C to 55 degrees C. To determine the bactericidal mechanism of caprylic acid, membrane integrity was examined by fluorescent staining followed by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Increased cellular inactivation was associated with increased propidium iodide staining, indicating damage to the cell membrane of Cronobacter spp.. Overall, these data indicate that the addition of this natural antimicrobial agent to infant formula may have potential use for controlling microbes prior to consumption at lower heating temperatures. The study also provides a complementary understanding of the mode of action of caprylic acid on Cronobacter spp.