Antidiabetic and Anti-hyperlipidemic Effects of Virgin Coconut Oil in Rats

Virgin coconut oil is known to have beneficial health effects. Although it is rich in saturated fatty acids, these saturated fatty acids are easily absorbed and used as energy for metabolism and protects the body from disease. So, this study is designed to evaluate the protective effects of virgin coconut oil against alloxan induced diabetes.

In this study, forty male Wistar rats were divided into four groups (10 rats per group), control group, virgin coconut oil (VCO) group, alloxan group and alloxan treated group. Alloxan was administered at 150 mg/kg body weight through a single intraperitoneal injection. After three days of induction of diabetes by alloxan, virgin coconut oil was administered orally at 10 ml/kg body weight, daily for four weeks.

Results showed that alloxan caused diabetes as indicated by significant increase in the fasting blood glucose level (330±2.8 mg/dl) and oral glucose tolerance test with a significant reduction in serum insulin level (0.90±0.05 µiu/ml). Moreover, alloxan induced significant increase in total cholesterol (110±2.8 mg/dl), triglycerides (350±7.05 mg/dl) and LDL (33.60±0.98 mg/dl). Alloxan also induced renal dysfunction as indicated by a significant increase in serum creatinine (3.25±0.02 mg/dl) and urea (76.14±0.64 mg/dl). Alloxan caused significant elevations in ALT (108.2±1.06 U/L) and AST (118.9±0.76 U/L) with a significant decrease in serum albumin (2.36±0.17 g/dl) and total proteins (3.9±0.11 g/dl). However, coconut oil is effective in alleviation of alloxan induced disorders.

It is concluded that coconut oil is very effective against deleterious hyperlipidemic, hyperglycemic and nephro-toxic effects of alloxan.