Effect of Virgin Coconut Oil from Green Coconut on High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) Levels in Blood Serum of White Mice

E-ISSN: 2720-9326 P-ISSN: 2716-0459 DOI: 10.20885/EKSAKTA.vol2.iss2.art10 Research Article Effect of Virgin Coconut Oil from Green Coconut on High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) Levels in Blood Serum of White Mice Iswendi Iswendi1*, Iryani Iryani1, Regi Fadila Putra2 1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science (FMIPA), Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia 2 Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan. * Corresponding author: Received: 31 October 2021; Accepted: 4 December 2021; Published: 31 December 2021 Abstract: This study aims to determine the effect of High-Density Lipoprotein (VCO) dose on mice's blood serum High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) levels. This study is an experimental study using 24 mice divided into four groups. Control (-), Control (+) were fed egg yolks 0.025 mL/g body weight, Dose 0.02 and Dose 0.025 were experimental groups, given egg yolks 0.025 mL/g mice body weight and VCO at a dose of 0.020 mL, and 0.025 mL/g body weight of mice. HDL levels were determined on days 7, 14, and 21 by enzymatic method using 20 D* spectrophotometry. The statistical test found that the length of time giving VCO significantly affected blood serum HDL levels in mice with Fcount > Ftable (Fcount = 7.128 and Ftable = 5.14). In contrast, variations in VCO dose did not significantly affect blood serum HDL levels. mice with Fcount < Ftable (Fcount = 3.33 and Ftable = 4.76). The highest HDL level was at a dose of 0.020 mL/g body weight of mice with a treatment period of 14 days, namely 164,033 mg/dL of blood. Keywords: Virgin coconut oil, HDL, White mice, Green Coconut Introduction Indonesia is the largest coconut producer after the Philippines. Coconut plants grow a lot in coastal areas. In 2015, coconut plantations in Indonesia reached 3,585,599 hectares [1]. The coconut plant can be called a plant of a thousand uses. All parts of the coconut plant are instrumental, from the roots of the coconut. It is instrumental as a colorant, and the stems can be building materials. Coconut leaves can be used as broomsticks and woven goods. Coconut fiber can be made as craft mats, brooms, and mattresses. Coconut shells can be used as activated carbon and handicrafts. The fruit's flesh can be used as raw material to produce copra, coconut oil, and coconut milk. Coconut water can be used to make vinegar and nata de coco. In addition, coconut is used as a processed product in pure VCO, which is beneficial for humans [2][3]. Figure 1. Green Coconut [4] EKSAKTA journal.uii.ac.id/eksakta 162 August 2021, Volume 2, No. 2, 162-168 E-ISSN: 2720-9326 P-ISSN: 2716-0459 VCO, one of the products that come from coconut, has been part of the daily life of people due to its numerous medicinal properties. These include anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, antioxidant, anti-stress, and antimicrobial properties[5]. It has also been a significant source of dietary fat and is completely non-toxic to humans[6] VCO also provides health benefits that could reduce some risks of certain diseases, including chronic disease. It has been reported that VCO has similar beneficial effects in mother’s milk that can give babies an immunity to disease due to its medium-chain fats from C8 and C12, similar to breast milk[7]. Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is oil that comes from the flesh of old coconuts, which is extracted at low temperature (< 60°C), where the Physico-chemical properties of the coconut oil do not change during extraction [3][8]. The term virgin is used to distinguish between virgin coconut oil and conventional coconut oil. Pure coconut oil is processed from fresh coconut raw materials without a refining process, so the temperature used in this process is lower [9][10]. Oil processing at low temperatures aims to maintain its chemical structure in order that it does not decompose, especially medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), such as lauric acid, capric acid, caprylic acid, and myristic acid [4][11][12]. The MCFA contained in VCO is very beneficial for health [12]. VCO contains 90% saturated fatty acids and 10% unsaturated fatty acids. The saturated fatty acids in coconut oil are almost dominated by lauric acid (Table 3) [11][13]. The presence of lauric acid in the VCO is responsible for its potential to prevent cardiovascular diseases because it initiates high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and decreases the total/HDL cholesterol ratio[14]. VCO can decrease the total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, low-density lipoprotein, and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and can increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in serum and tissue comparison to copra oil Table 1. Coconut Oil Fatty Acid Composition (VCO) [11] Fatty Acid Amount(%) Unsaturated Fatty Acids Laurate Acid 43,0 – 53,0 Myristate Acid 16,0 – 21,0 Capric Acid 4,5 – 8,0 Palmitic Acid 7,5 – 10,0 Caprylic Acid 5,0 – 10,0 Caproic Acid 0,4 – 0,6 Saturated Fatty Acids Oleic acid 1,0 – 2,5 Palmitic acid 2,0 – 4,0 Polyphenols 80 mg/dl The MCFA in CO can provide health benefits, such as functioning as an anti-microbial, antibody, and anti-virus to defend the body from the liver, AIDS, prostate gland enlargement, and cancer. VCO can lose weight or obesity and increase HDL levels and reduce blood levels of LowDensity Lipoprotein (LDL) by dissolving cholesterol; thus, blood circulation becomes smooth [15][16]. Recently, VCO emerged as a health supplement because of its medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) content which was found to have potential as an anti-obesity treatment and has been shown to cure some minor ailments such as diarrhea, skin inflammation [17][18]. VCO Additionally contains antioxidants. The capacity of flavonoids to act as antioxidants depends on their molecular structure. Flavonoids will activate the Lecithin Cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) enzyme in the endogenous pathway, converting free cholesterol into more hydrophobic cholesterol esters, causing an increase in the bonding process between cholesterol esters and lipoprotein cores in order that HDL formation increases [19]. Antioxidants can protect the body from free radical attacks by donating one electron to oxidant compounds to inhibit the activity of these oxidant compounds[20]. The direct effect is shown by reducing free radicals, giving electrons to free radicals, so they are no longer reactive without generating new free radicals. Indirectly, flavonoids inhibit the production of free radicals. Flavonoids (especially genistein) inhibit protein kinase C enzymes required to produce superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide, resulting in the downregulation of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide. Besides that, flavonoids also bind excessive free Fe in plasma to prevent the formation of free radicals (Fenton reaction). Flavonoids also increase the production of endogenous AO such as Cu-Zn, Superoxide dismutase. As antioxidants, flavonoids (polyphenol groups) work as follows: radical scavenging, directly donat (...truncated)