A LITTLE 'TALK' ABOUT COCONUT (Cocos nucifera)

The coconut tree is a very important tree throughout the world, a tree whose benefits cut through all aspects of life. It is a large palm belonging to the family Arecaceae. The term coconut refers to the entire coconut palm, the seed and the fruit.

 It is found across much of the tropic and subtropics where it serves as part of the daily diet of many people and because of its many uses it is referred to as the tree of life (Chan and Elivitch, 2006). Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals. For thousands of years it has held a respected and valuable place in Indian folk medicine, it is believed to be antiblenorrhagic, antibronchitis, febrifugal and antigingivitic. In Ayurvedic medicine, the oil, the milk, cream and water of coconut were all used to treat hair loss, burns and heart problems. In India, the use of coconut for food and its application in the ayurvedic medicine were documented in Sanskrit 4000 years (Manisha and Shyamapada, 2011).

The physiological components of coconut are found in the fat part of whole coconut, the fat part of desiccated coconut and in the extracted coconut oil (Enig, 1999).
Coconut oil is an edible oil that has been consumed in tropical countries for thousands of years (Gopala et al., 2010). An Oil once mistakenly believed to be bad by the Americans because of its saturated fat content is now known to contain a unique form of saturated fat that actually helps prevent obesity, heart disease, stroke and hardening of the arteries as well as provide many other health benefits. Interestingly enough, the secret to coconut oils healing powers came as a result of research on human breast milk (Kabara, 1980). Research has shown that coconut and its oil can be very beneficial, some of which include antiviral effects (Hierholzer, and Kabara, 1972, Enig, 1999), cardioprotective effect (Nevin and Rajamohan, 2007), antioxidant effect (Loki and Rajamohan, 2003), antidote effect (Effiong et al., 2010), antidiabetic effect (Salil et al., 2010), antifungal effect (Zdenka et al., 2002, Ogbolu et al., 2007), antiprotozoal effect (Esquenazi et al., 2002), hormone like effect (Radenahmad et al., 2006), antibacterial effect (Preuss, et al., 2005, Preuss, et al., 2005, Ruzin and Novick, 2000).
Coconut oil is a saturated oil obtained from the meat of coconut through dry or wet processing (Grimwood et al., 1975). The copra, the dried kernel which is mainly used for oil extraction contains about 65-75 % fat and oil (N.M.C.E, 2007), about 20 % carbohydrate, 7-8 % protein, 5-6 % natural sugars and about 2-3 % moisture (Manisha and Shyamapada 2011). The oil is primarily made up of medium chain fatty acid such as lauric acid and capric acid which has adverse effects on some Gram positive(Staphylococci, Streptococci species) and Gram negative (Enterobacter spp, Enterococcus spp) organisms. These fatty acids and their derivatives act by disrupting lipid membranes of the organisms (Projan et al., 1994).

Culled from my undergraduate project work; Antibacterial effect of Cocos nucifera oil………..