Halaan shell good material for toothpaste, says study

MANILA, Philippines - Toothpaste can be produced from the ground shell of arc shell or anadara, an edible mollusk popularly known locally as halaan.

Dr. Bernardita Lauron of the Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College, Concepcion campus, found this out in a study.

Monitored by the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development, the research used lime from ground shells of halaan in making toothpaste.

In her study, Lauron burned generous quantities of halaan shells in a furnace until a big amount of white powdery substance (lime) was produced. The process was repeated thrice to ensure a high degree of purity.

The materials used in preparing anadara toothpaste were castile soap (four grams), distilled water (28 milliliters), glycerine (20 grams), gum tragacanth (one gram), oil of peppermint (five drops), saccharin (five drops), lime (55 grams), sodium fluoride (one milliliter), and a clean beaker.

The castile soap, distilled water, glycerine, gum tragacanth, oil of peppermint, and saccharin were thoroughly mixed in a clean 200-ml beaker. Lime and one milliliter of sodium flouride were added and stirred well, forming a paste.

The mixture was then transferred into a clean container for subsequent testing and analysis.

The anadara toothpaste was compared with commercial brands in terms of cleansing capacity, quality, and general consumer preference.

A 10-member panel evaluated the samples of the four toothpastes. “The overall results of this study showed that anadara toothpaste is the same as the commercially available ones in terms of quality and general consumer preference,” Lauron said.

One reason for this, she explained, is that there is significantly little difference between the ingredients used in preparing anadara toothpaste and those sold in the market.

Lime extracted from arc shells provides the equally efficient abrasive action of calcium carbonate in most commercial toothpaste. It also contains fluoride in the form of sodium fluoride.

Lauron emphasized that the study’s main thrust is the economic and environmental importance of using recyclable materials, in this case, lime from arc shells in the preparation of toothpaste.

 “Lime and its many uses can be extracted easily and cheaply from ‘already considered waste’ materials such as edible mollusk shells,” she said.