It’ll take their breath away.
Scientists have devised an unorthodox remedy they claim can eliminate rancid breath and oral bacteria in canines — an eco-friendly and cost-efficient spray derived from molasses.
They detailed the unorthodox, funk-fighting remedy in a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
“The spray itself has a mild, plant-like and molasses-like smell, but it is not strong or unpleasant,” said Hongye Li, lead author of the study, Phys.org reported. “Our goal was to investigate if a sustainable agricultural by-product could safely improve the daily oral health of our pets.”
As veterinarians point out, bad breath or halitosis in dogs isn’t just unpleasant; it could actually be indicative of an underlying health condition such as tooth decay or dental disease, according to PetMD.
To combat this, vets prescribe numerous halitosis remedies, including daily tooth brushing using pet-safe enzymatic toothpastes, antibiotics and chemical rinses.
For their latest cure, Li and his team examined molasses — the low-cost byproduct of sugarcane refining — and discovered that it harbored polyphenols that prevented the growth of harmful oral microbes in lab-grown cultures.
For testing, researchers recruited 10 pooches with putrid breath — with the consent of their owners, of course.
The team sprayed the experimental freshener in the pups’ mouths, extracted saliva samples and monitored the smell of the subjects’ breath before and after application, noting that saliva harbors undetectable amounts of offensive-smelling and halitosis-causing compounds and microbes.
This oral deodorant appeared to do the trick; human evaluators found that the mongrels’ mouth odor was negligible.
A longer-term test, which involved applying the spray daily for 30 days, led to a reduction in aroma compounds — volatile chemical molecules that evaporate and trigger our sense of smell.
After further lab and computer tests, according to Li, the polyphenols were unveiled as the odor masker because they initially acted like a “molecular sponge” by “directly binding to and neutralizing existing bad odor molecules.”
They then switched off the “specific bacterial enzymes that produce foul smells” before finally eradicating the funk-producing bacteria over time.
The team hopes to test out the anti-stink spray on more furry subjects in the future to help develop green and efficient ways to keep them healthy and halitosis-free.
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