Nutritional and

Medicinal Uses of
Virgin Coconut Oil

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a at is Commercial Coconut Oil?

— It is t e oil mec anically

extracted from t e kernel
(endosperm) of t e
coconut
— Copra is t e kernel
material after separating
t e s ell (endocarp
— It is an RBD oil (refined,
bleac ed and deodorized)
— Hig eat and c emicals
may be used to produce
t is oil
Composition of Coconut Oil
— Saturated Fatty Acid
— Medium C ain Fatty
Acids (MCFA)
— Lauric acid (50%)
Composition of Coconut Oil
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Fatty Acids
— Saturated FA
— Do not contain double
bond
Fatty Acids
— Monounsaturated FA
— 1 double bond
Fatty Acids
— Polyunsaturated FA
— 2 or more double bonds
P ysico-c emical value of
Saturated & Unsaturated FA
— Saturated FA
— Straig t configuration
— More stable
— Long s elf life

— Unsaturated FA
— Curved configuration
— Unstable
— Need to be ydrogenated to for longer s elf life
Hydrogenation of Fats
— Transforms into longer s elf life for MUFA
— Straig tens t e curve configuration
— Creates TRANS-FATTY ACIDS
— Hig risk fat
— Lowers t e level of HDL
— Raises t e level of LDL
— Leads to obesity, diabetes and immunologic problems
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Trans Fatty Acids During Pregnancy
and After Pregnancy
— Effect on t e pregnant woman
— Increases t e risk of pre-eclampsia
— Effect on t e fetus
— Displace essential fatty acids needed for brain and
nervous tissue development
— Effect on t e newborn
— Interferes wit growt and development
— Effect on t e mot er¶s milk
— Significantly c anges t e composition of uman milk
by displacing t e essential fatty acids
Importance of Carbon C ain Lengt
in Fatty Acids
Medium C ain Triglycerides
— Contain 6 ± 12 carbon atoms
— Rapidly absorbed
— Does not require pancreatic or bile salt digestion
prior to absorption
— Does not get stored as fat
— Directly taken up by t e epatocytes and directly
converted to MC Acyl CoA and enters into t e
mitroc ondria wit out t e aid of carnitine
— Generates eat
Lauric Acid
— also known as    and 
  is a t e main fatty acid in
coconut oil wit structural formula
CH3(CH2)10COOH
— as a very low toxicity and so is used in
many soaps and s ampoos and ot er
cosmetic products
a at is VCNO?
— Mec anically pressed and
eated to remove
moisture
— Cold pressed / cold and
centrifuged
— Enzymatic extraction
— No added c emical on
t e final product
Nutritional and Medicinal Value
— aeak Evidence
— for weig t loss and to increase at letic
performance
— elpful in some cancers and may ave
some positive effects on immunity.
Nutritional and Medicinal Value
— Strong Evidence
— for nutritional support in
— enteral and total parenteral nutrition in
some infants and surgical patients
— t ose w o are critically ill wit
immunosuppression, pulmonary disease,
liver disease, neurologic injury and various
malabsorption syndromes
— useful in some wit epilepsy and ot er
disorders c aracterized by seizures.
Dermatologic/ Cosmetic Use
— C aracteristics
— Emmolients
— Moisturizer
— Base for most cosmetic products
— S ampoo
— Soap
— Skin Infections/ Diseases
— Psoriasis
— Fungal Disease
a at are t e present problems wit t e
use of VCNO as food supplement?
— No standard dose to recommend
— T e definitive effect on c olesterol is still
not clear
— T e side effects, suc as diarr ea, are still
undocumented
a at are t e present problems wit t e
use of VCNO as medicine?
— Lack of controlled clinical trials on specific
diseases
— Infectious diseases ±viral or bacterial
— Diabetes
— Cancer
— Lack of controlled clinical trials on
specialized pediatric nutrition
— Low birt weig t infants/ Pre-term SGA