Variations in natural polyphenols determine the anti‐inflammatory potential of virgin coconut oils

Abstract

Virgin coconut oil (VCO), an edible oil prepared from fresh coconut kernel by natural or mechanical means without undergoing chemical refining, has been in the limelight of research as functional food oil. The phenolic components in VCO have been accredited with these pharmacological benefits. The present study compared the phenolic constituents of freshly prepared fermentation processed (FVCO) and hot‐pressed VCO (HVCO) and their anti‐inflammatory efficacies. The biochemical analysis documented quantitative variation in the phenolic content, being higher in HVCO than FVCO (40.03 ± 5.8 µg and 25.55 ± 5.8 µg/mL of oil, respectively). In vitro studies observed nitric oxide radical scavenging efficacy (IC50 value of 14.84 ± 0.81 µg/mL) for HVCO polyphenols, which shows higher inhibition efficacy than FVCO (29.41 ± 1.7 µg/mL). In dextran and formalin mediated acute and chronic inflammation in mice, HVCO displayed more protective efficacy (40.5 and 46.4% inhibition) than FVCO (33.3 and 43.8% inhibition), which is similar to the standard diclofenac (55.6 and 59.8% inhibition). The study, thus, concludes that compared to FVCO, HVCO is a more active anti‐inflammatory agent. Practical Application Virgin coconut oil, a widely used edible oil in South Asian countries, has been shown to have health benefits possibly exerted by the natural phenolics it contains. However, different modes of preparations of VCO determine the phenolic combinations and efficacy as well. Our study compared two different VCO preparations and suggests that the VCO prepared by the traditional way (HVCO) is pharmacologically potent than that prepared by simple fermentation process (FVCO) in reducing inflammation. The efficacy is attributed to the variations in phenolic profile revealed by LC‐MS analysis. Hence, the current study suggests HVCO as a potential food supplement that can reduce the incidence of degenerative diseases.

Tiger nut/coconut dietary intervention as antidotal nutritional remediation strategy against neurobehavioural deficits following organophosphate-induced gut-brain axis dysregulation in mice

“…While the mechanism behind this observed difference is not clear at the moment, it can be inferred that there is a possible polyphenols synergistic interplay [139] of the various beneficial phytochemicals in both tiger nut and coconut producing enhanced scavenging effects. In addition to the polyphenols such as quercetin rich in tiger nut and coconut [54] , [94] , these nuts are also rich with micronutrients such as vitamins C and E, therefore becoming great sources of exogenous antioxidants in abrogating OP-induced redox imbalance in the GBA.…”

Reduction of lauric acid content in virgin coconut oil improved plasma lipid profile in high‐fat diet‐induced hypercholesterolemic mice

“…VCO is prepared from fresh coconut kernel by natural or mechanical means without undergoing chemical refining. Therefore, it contains higher amounts of nutrients such as vitamin E, dietary bioactive compounds, and polyphenols with antioxidant capacity (Deen et al, 2021;Illam et al, 2022Illam et al, , 2021. Variations in natural polyphenols could also determine the anti-inflammatory potential of VCO (Illam et al, 2021).…”

“…Therefore, it contains higher amounts of nutrients such as vitamin E, dietary bioactive compounds, and polyphenols with antioxidant capacity (Deen et al, 2021;Illam et al, 2022Illam et al, , 2021. Variations in natural polyphenols could also determine the anti-inflammatory potential of VCO (Illam et al, 2021). The LLA was prepared by enzymatic interesterification of VCO resulting in the reduction of lauric acid content to ∼30%, whereas caprylic (C8, 27%) and capric (C10, 25%) acids were increased compared to VCO (C8, 7.8%; C10, 6.7%).…”

“…These include lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) (Babu et al, 2014;Nevin & Rajamohan, 2004) and Alzheimer's disease (Ramesh et al, 2021), being an antioxidant, showing anti-inflammatory activity (Illam et al, 2017;Karunasiri et al, 2020), decreasing blood sugar levels in diabetic patients and mice (Malaeb & Spoke, 2020;Zicker et al, 2019), and reducing body weight (Assunção et al, 2009;Cardoso et al, 2015). Several lines of evidence have demonstrated that the pharmacological benefits of VCO can be attributed to certain nutrients, for example, vitamin E and its bioactive polyphenol components, for example, gallic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, methyl catechin, dihydrokaempferol, and myricetin glycoside (Illam et al, 2021(Illam et al, , 2017Ramesh et al, 2021;Zeng et al, 2022). The pharmacological actions of these polyphenols were widely reported in both in vitro (Illam et al, 2021(Illam et al, , 2017 and in vivo studies (Famurewa et al, 2021;Nevin & Rajamohan, 2004;Vysakh et al, 2014;Yeap et al, 2015).…”

“…Several lines of evidence have demonstrated that the pharmacological benefits of VCO can be attributed to certain nutrients, for example, vitamin E and its bioactive polyphenol components, for example, gallic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, methyl catechin, dihydrokaempferol, and myricetin glycoside (Illam et al, 2021(Illam et al, , 2017Ramesh et al, 2021;Zeng et al, 2022). The pharmacological actions of these polyphenols were widely reported in both in vitro (Illam et al, 2021(Illam et al, , 2017 and in vivo studies (Famurewa et al, 2021;Nevin & Rajamohan, 2004;Vysakh et al, 2014;Yeap et al, 2015). In addition, as polyphenols are poorly absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, the beneficial effect of VCO could also be due to its ability to improve the absorption of these phenolic compounds, thus enhancing their bioavailability and pharmacological actions (Prasadani et al, 2017;Weerakoon et al, 2021).…”