Antibacterial Evaluation of Deodorant X and Bacterial Identification of Axilla in Young Adult Males via Clinical Trials

Abstract

Body odour is an undesirable trait caused by the presence of certain bacteria including Staphylococcus spp. and Corynebacterium spp. interacting with specific components in sweat, in which the bacteria produce malodorous volatile compounds. Deodorant is a personal hygiene product that has the function to combat body odour by way of many mechanisms, one of which is the inhibition of bacterial growth. The objective of this study is to evaluate the antibacterial properties of deodorant X adult male subjects between the ages of 18-22, as well as identify what bacteria may be responsible for body odour production, and whether or not the deodorant can inhibit the growth of these bacteria. Methods used for the clinical trial included the swab sample collection from pre-conditioned axillary areas, one of them control and the other treated, and for the antibacterial study, the Miles and Misra method was used to obtain the CFU/mL values from the control and treated axilla. Gram-staining of bacterial colonies grown on MSA agar were used to select for Staphylococcus spp. Results demonstrate that the deodorant tested reduced bacterial growth but results were not statistically significant. Furthermore, results of bacterial identification revealed that Staphylococcus aureus, and other Staphylococcus species beside S. aureus such as S. hominis and S. epidermidis were also part of the normal microflora of young adult male axilla. Thus, results can conclude that though the antibacterial effect of the deodorant is not significant, it did reduce bacterial growth, and certain bacteria identified were the species responsible for the production of body odour.