Abstract
The coconut oil (CO) contains 91 % of saturated fatty acids in which 72 % are medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) like lauric, capric and caprylic acids. In contrast to animal fat, coconut oil has no cholesterol. Despite this fact, CO is sidelined among other vegetable oils due to the health hazards attributed to the saturated fatty acids. Though various medicinal effects of CO have been reported including the hypolipidemic activity, people are still confused in the consumption of this natural oil. In silico analyses and wet lab experiments have been carried out to identify the hypolipidemic properties of MCFAs and phenolic acids in CO by using different protein targets involved in cholesterol synthesis. The molecular docking studies were carried out using CDOCKER protocol in Accelery’s Discovery Studio, by taking different proteins like HMG- CoA reductase and cholesterol esterase as targets and the different phytocompounds in coconut as ligands. Molecular docking highlighted the potential of lauric acid in inhibiting the protein targets involved in hyperlipidemics. Further, validation of in silico results was carried out through in vivo studies. The activity of key enzymes HMG- CoA reductase and lipoprotein lipase were found reduced in animals fed with lauric acid and CO.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- MCFAs:
-
Medium chain fatty acids
- ADMET:
-
Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity
- LHD:
-
Lauric acid high dose
- LLD:
-
LLD Lauric acid low dose
References
DebMandal M, Mandal S (2011) Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.: Arecaceae): in health promotion and disease prevention. Asian Pac J Trop Med 4(3):241–247
Kumar PD (1997) The role of coconut and coconut oil in coronary heart disease in Kerala, south India. Trop Doct 27(4):215–217
Wang J, Wang X, Li J, Chen Y, Yang W, Zhang L (2015) Effects of dietary coconut oil as a medium-chain fatty acid source on performance, carcass composition and serum lipids in male broilers. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci 28(2):223–230. doi:10.5713/ajas.14.0328
Marina AM, Man YB, Nazimah SA, Amin I (2009) Antioxidant capacity and phenolic acids of virgin coconut oil. Int J Food Sci Nutr 2:114–123
Padmakumaran Nair KG, Rajamohan T, Kurup PA (1998) Coconut kernel protein modifies the effect of coconut oil on serum lipids. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 53(2):133–144. doi:10.1023/a:1008078103299
Narayanankutty A, Mukesh RK, Ayoob SK, Ramavarma SK, Suseela IM, Manalil JJ, Kuzhivelil BT, Raghavamenon AC (2016) Virgin coconut oil maintains redox status and improves glycemic conditions in high fructose fed rats. J Food Sci Technol 53(1):895–901. doi:10.1007/s13197-015-2040-8
Prior IA, Davidson F, Salmond CE, Czochanska Z (1981) Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapuka and Tokelau island studies. Am J Clin Nutr 34(8):1552–1561
Lindeberg S, Lundh B (1993) Apparent absence of stroke and ischaemic heart disease in a traditional Melanesian island: a clinical study in Kitava. J Intern Med 233(3):269–275
Mensink RP, Zock PL, Kester AD, Katan MB (2003) Effects of dietary fatty acids and carbohydrates on the ratio of serum total to HDL cholesterol and on serum lipids and apolipoproteins: a meta-analysis of 60 controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr 77(5):1146–1155
Siri-Tarino PW, Sun Q, Hu FB, Krauss RM (2010) Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr 91(3):535–546
Röhrig UF, Awad L, Grosdidier A, Larrieu P, Stroobant V, Colau D, Cerundolo V, Simpson AJG, Vogel P, Van den Eynde BJ, Zoete V, Michielin O (2010) Rational design of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase inhibitors. J Med Chem 53(3):1172–1189. doi:10.1021/jm9014718
Guo W, Shu Y, Yang X (2016) Tea dietary fiber improves serum and hepatic lipid profiles in mice fed a high cholesterol diet. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 71(2):145–150. doi:10.1007/s11130-016-0536-7
Kumar DR, Lakshmi PS, Saravani N, Marimuthu S (2012) In silico molecular docking studies on porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2 against plant extracts of phenolic inhibitors. Int J Res Biomed Biotechnol 2(3):8–16
Shruthila N, Narayan P, Kumar JD, Nagendra HG (2014) Docking studies of coconut oil components with amyloid beta peptide fragments. Paper presented at the 3rd International Conference and Exhibition on Neurology & Therapeutics, Hilton, Philadelphia Airport, USA
Porto LCS, da Silva J, Ferraz ABF, Ethur EM, Porto CDL, Marroni NP, Picada JN (2015) The antidiabetic and ntihypercholesterolemic effects of an aqueous extract from pecan shells in Wistar rats. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 70(4):414–419. doi:10.1007/s11130-015-0510-9
Wu G, Robertson DH, Brooks CL 3rd, Vieth M (2003) Detailed analysis of grid-based molecular docking: a case study of CDOCKER-A CHARMm-based MD docking algorithm. J Comput Chem 24(13):1549–1562
Manalil JJ, Baby M, Ramavarma SK, Suseela IM, Padikkala J, Raghavamenon AC (2015) Development of an anti-atherosclerotic polyherbal formulation: GSTC3. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol 34(3):237–248
Fisher EA, Feig JE, Hewing B, Hazen SL, Smith JD (2012) High-density lipoprotein function, dysfunction, and reverse cholesterol transport. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 32(12):2813–2820
Favari E, Chroni A, Tietge UJ, Zanotti I, Escola-Gil JC, Bernini F (2015) Cholesterol efflux and reverse cholesterol transport. Handb Exp Pharmacol 224:181–206
Van Heek M, Zilversmit DB (1991) Mechanisms of hypertriglyceridemia in the coconut oil/cholesterol-fed rabbit. Increased secretion and decreased catabolism of very low density lipoprotein. Arterioscler Thromb 11(4):918–927
Belguith-Hadriche O, Ammar S, Contreras MM, Turki M, Segura-Carretero A, El Feki A, Makni-Ayedi F, Bouaziz M (2016) Antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activities of edible Tunisian Ficus carica L. fruits in high fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 71(2):183–189. doi:10.1007/s11130-016-0541-x
Arunima S, Rajamohan T (2012) Virgin coconut oil improves hepatic lipid metabolism in rats--compared with copra oil, olive oil and sunflower oil. Indian J Exp Biol 50(11):802–809
Acknowledgments
Authors are thankful to DBT, Government of India and Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur for providing the research fellowship to undertake this work. Dr. Ramadasan Kuttan, Research Director, Amala Cancer Research Centre, Thrissur is duly acknowledged for providing the facility for animal works and analysis. Arunaksharan N acknowledge Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Govt. of India for senior research fellowship (09/869(0012)/2012 EMR-I). JJ Manalil acknowledge DST-Inspire program for senior research fellowship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest in this manuscript.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 14 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lekshmi Sheela, D., Nazeem, P.A., Narayanankutty, A. et al. In Silico and Wet Lab Studies Reveal the Cholesterol Lowering Efficacy of Lauric Acid, a Medium Chain Fat of Coconut Oil. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 71, 410–415 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-016-0577-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-016-0577-y