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Naturopathic Medicine and the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease
Published in Stephen T. Sinatra, Mark C. Houston, Nutritional and Integrative Strategies in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2022
The DASH diet suggests consuming 2–3 servings a day of fats and oils including vegetable oil and/or margarine. We do not recommend these oils because they may contain trans fats, and may promote free radical oxidation in the body, particularly in the blood vessels. Instead, we like olive, avocado, and coconut oils for supporting cardiovascular health. Studies on olive oil show promising reductions in blood pressure when consumed in upwards of 60 g (4 Tbsp) a day.55 The oleic acid present in olive oil may be responsible for the blood pressure-lowering effect. Coconut oil is a very stable oil and great to use for high-heat cooking. In one study, virgin coconut oil fed to rats helped prevent blood pressure elevation, which the authors suggest may be due to a reduction in vasoconstriction of the endothelium.56 Therefore, when used in moderation, these oils can exert cardioprotective qualities.
Plant Source Foods
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Coconut water is rich in simple sugar, cytokinin, and enzymes (catalase, phosphatase, peroxidase, dehydrogenase) which aid digestion (123). Coconut water and coconut kernel might have numerous medicinal properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, anti-dermatophytic, antiviral, anti-helminthic, antidiarrheal, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective, immunostimulant, antiarthritic, analgesic, antipyretic, and antioxidant activities (123–124). In addition, other properties such as vasodilation, antihypertensive, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, anti-inflammatory, antiseizure, and anti-osteoporosis effects have also been also reported (123–124). Coconut oil extracted from the dry kernel is an excellent emollient agent for hair nourishment and is used in cooking. Some people are allergic to kernel and coconut oil. Food containing coconut as an ingredient must mention it in its label.
Coconut Sprouts as Phytomedicine
Published in Parimelazhagan Thangaraj, Phytomedicine, 2020
S. Abiraami Valli, S. Uma Gowrie
Cocos nucifera is the only species of the genus Cocos, which includes 27 genera and 600 species (Evans 2002). One of the essential primary natural products from the dry coconut fruit is the coconut oil, which has been used as traditional medicine, functional food, and also in pharmaceuticals. It is referred to as “miracle oil.” The coconut tree itself is known as “the Tree of Life,” as each of its parts are being used for various purposes. These are highly nutritious and are enriched with bioactive compounds with great medicinal value (Siriphanich et al. 2011). The constituents of C. nucifera have some of the biological effects, such as anthelminthic, anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive, anti-oxidant, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-tumor activities. In addition, other properties, such as anti-hypertensive, cardioprotective, anti-seizure, cytotoxicity, hepatoprotective, vasodilation, nephroprotective, and anti-osteoporosis effects were also reported. Because each part of the C. nucifera has different constituents, the pharmacological effects of the plant vary according to the part of the plant evaluated (Lima et al. 2015).
Complementary and alternative treatment methods practiced by parents in pediatric cases diagnosed with atopic dermatitis
Published in Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2022
Ayşe Akbaş, Zeynep Şengül Emeksiz, Ahu Yorulmaz, Yıldız Hayran, Fadime Kılınç, Halil Ibrahim Yakut, Müge Toyran, Kezban İpek Demir
Oils may be thought to be beneficial in AD with their moisturizing effects. In CAT studies, the use of sunflower, olive oil, coconut oil, black cumin oil, sandalwood oil, and borage oil was reported (11,14,16,18). Sunflower seed oil was shown to have both anti-inflammatory and barrier-repairing effects (35). In some studies, it was determined that olive oil is harmful to the skin barrier, sunflower oil protects the integrity of the stratum corneum, does not cause erythema and improves skin hydration (36). Natural antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of pure coconut oil were reported (37). While good results were obtained with sandalwood oil, which is preferred in some countries, borage oil was not found to be different from placebo; so borage was preferred very little (38). In this study, oils were the most used complementary treatment after vitamins and were used by 47% of the patients. This may be due to the fact that oils are thought to be a natural moisturizer. The use of olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, and black cumin oil was similar to other studies in our country. The use of oil varies according to different cultures. While similar oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, and black cumin oil are mostly preferred in Malaysia, the oil usage rate is very low in some countries such as Denmark (22,28).
Hot-processed virgin coconut oil abrogates cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity by restoring redox balance in rats compared to fermentation-processed virgin coconut oil
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2022
Arunaksharan Narayanankutty, Soorya Parathodi Illam, Varsha Rao, Sabah Shehabudheen, Achuthan C. Raghavamenon
Virgin coconut oil has been well described for its medicinal, biological and pharmaceutical applications. The phenolic compounds, as well as the medium-chain, saturated fatty acids, are thought to be the bioactive molecules in VCO. MCFA composition of different VCO preparation is found to be similar, whereas, studies have reported changes in the total phenolic content. The previous study identified a higher phenolic content in hot-processed virgin coconut oil than the cold-processed (Srivastava et al.2013). Corroborating with their results, the present study also observed a higher phenolic content, in HPVCO. Previously, studies by Vergara-Salinas et al. (2012) and Cvetanović et al. (2019) have observed a temperature-dependent extraction of polyphenols, with a higher polyphenolic yield at 85–115 °C. It is thus possible that the release of phenolic acids into the HPVCO may be enhanced by the heating process during its preparation. Further, in vitro antioxidant studies also identified a higher free radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition potential for polyphenols isolated from HPVCO than the FPVCO polyphenols, at their equimolar concentrations. It is thus ascertained that the variation in the phenolic composition may be responsible for the better antioxidant potential observed with HPVCO.
Incorporation of methotrexate into coconut oil nanoemulsion potentiates its antiproliferation activity and attenuates its oxidative stress
Published in Drug Delivery, 2020
Mayson H. Alkhatib, Shaza A. Alyamani, Faiza Abdu
In this study, serum activities of CAT, SOD, and GR levels were remarkably increased in mice treated with free-NE COCO and MTX-NE COCO compared to the free MTX group. These results are in agreement with the previous study that demonstrated the beneficial health effects of coconut oil against oxidative damage and side effects of MTX side effects (Zakaria et al., 2011; Kappally et al., 2015; Famurewa et al., 2017). Recently, several studies have focused on the protective effect of coconut oil against Alzheimer’s disease (Avgerinos et al., 2019; Ota et al., 2019; Chatterjee et al., 2020). They have reported that the medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) of coconut oil have a potential for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease because they are easily absorbed, and metabolized in the liver and get converted to Keton’s bodies which are important as an energy source for the brain and might help improve its cognitive function. Additionally, current evidence showed that the MCTs in coconut oil have neuroprotective properties.