Annals of Medicine Research and Public Health (ISSN: 2995-5955) | Volume 5, Issue 2 | Review Article | Open Access
Loso Judijanto*
IPOSS Jakarta, Indonesia
*Correspondence to: Loso Judijanto
Fulltext PDFAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) and biofilm-associated infections increasingly limit the effectiveness of conventional antimicrobial therapy and create demand for adjunctive agents operating through unconventional targets. Lauric acid, a medium-chain saturated fatty acid abundant in palm kernel oil, and its monoacylglycerol derivative glycerol monolaurate (GML; monolaurin) have attracted renewed interest because of membrane-active antimicrobial, antibiofilm, antivirulence, and immunomodulatory properties. This qualitative literature review synthesizes contemporary evidence published principally during 2020–2026 and evaluates the pathway from palm-kernel-derived lauric feedstocks to clinically relevant antimicrobial applications. Evidence indicates that lauric acid and GML can perturb microbial membranes, alter membrane potential and fluidity, suppress virulence-associated signaling, interfere with biofilm development, and enhance the activity of selected antibiotics. Recent studies extend these observations to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, antibiotic-resistant S. aureus recovered from patients with atopic dermatitis, polymicrobial biofilms, and selected multidrug-resistant Gram-negative clinical isolates. However, efficacy is strongly influenced by organism, biofilm state, biological matrix, exposure concentration, and formulation. Liposomes, nanoemulsions, albumin-associated systems, and petrolatum illustrate how delivery technology can bridge—or widen—the gap between biochemical activity and therapeutic feasibility. Major translational deficiencies remain in human pharmacokinetics, standardized formulations, dose optimization, microbiome safety, resistance-evolution studies, and controlled clinical trials. Palm-kernel-derived GML therefore represents a promising but incompletely validated platform whose development requires integration of microbiology, pharmaceutics, infection biology, and pharmaceutical-grade biorefinery science.
Antimicrobial resistance; Glycerol monolaurate; Monolaurin; Lauric acid; Palm kernel oil; Biofilm; MRSA; Membrane disruption; Antimicrobial lipids; Clinical translation
Loso Judijanto. From Palm Kernel to Membrane-Active Anti-Infectives: Lauric Acid and Glycerol Monolaurate Against Antimicrobial-Resistant and Biofilm-Associated Infections—A Review. Ann Med Res Pub Health. 2026;5(2):1-25.