May 27, 2002
Koala breath
We might all soon be making like koalas to keep our breath fresh and our teeth free of decay, according to Japanese researchers.
Kenji Osawa and his colleagues at Lotte Central Laboratory Ltd in Saitama and at Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences have extracted a group of novel compounds from eucalyptus leaves that can knock out the typical bacteria that cause plaque build-up on teeth that leads unchecked to tooth decay. And, if you doubt it will work ask yourself, if you have ever seen a koala in a dentist’s chair. I rest my case.
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Do Koalas have breath that smells like eucalyptus?
It’s almost 20 years since I saw a koala in the wild and I didn’t get close enough then to check, but I would expect that they do, yes.