Chapter 9

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Oil

Ali Osman

Abstract The coconut (Cocos nucifera L., family Arecaceae) is an important fruit
tree in the world. Copra, the dried kernel, is mainly used for oil extraction. Coconut
oil is one of the most important edible oils for domestic use. The oil is rich in
medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) and exhibits good digestibility. Different coconut
oils are produced from different parts of coconut by different means. Copra as well
as refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) oils are produced from dried coconut
kernel, with a difference that RBD oil undergoes chemical refinement and bleach-
ing. The brown testa of the coconut is used for the preparation of coconut testa oil
(CTO), which is actually a byproduct of coconut oil preparation. Compared to corpa
oil (CO) and RBD oils, virgin coconut oil (VCO) is extracted depend on a “wet
method” using fresh coconut milk. As there is no specific method of preparation of
VCO has been established, all types of preparations that do not involve refinement
and alterations in the oil are considered as a virgin. This chapter will cover the
preparation of different oils from coconut, chemistry of coconut oils, blending of
coconut oil with other edible oils and biological activities of coconut oils.

Keywords Phenolic compounds · Antimicrobial activity · Anti-inflammatory ·

Extraction

1 Introduction

The coconut is an important fruit tree in the world providing food for millions of
people, especially in the tropical and subtropical regoins and with its many uses it is
often called the tree of life. Copra, the dried kernel which is mainly used for oil
extraction, contains about 65–75% oil (DebMandal and Mandal 2011). Coconut oil
is one of the most important edible oils for domestic use. The oil is rich in medium
chain fatty acids (MCFA) and exhibits good digestibility (Shahidi 2006). Coconut

A. Osman (*)
Agricultural Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University,
Zagazig, Egypt

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 209

M. F. Ramadan (ed.), Fruit Oils: Chemistry and Functionality,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12473-1_9
210 A. Osman

oil is produced by crushing copra, the dried kernel, which contains about 60–65%
oil. The oil has the natural sweet taste of coconut and contains 92% of saturated
fatty acids (in the form of triglycerides), most of them (about 70%) are lower chain
saturated fatty acids known as MCFA. MCFA are not common to different vegetable
oils with lauric acid (45–56%) as a main MCFA in coconut oil. Various fractions of
coconut oil have medium chain triglycerides which considered as an excellent sol-
vent for flavors, essences, and emulsifiers. These fatty acids are used in the prepara-
tion of emulsifiers, as drugs and also in cosmetics (Krishna et al. 2010). Various
methods have been developed to extract coconut oil, either through dry or wet pro-
cessing. Dry processing is the most widely used form of extraction. Clean, ground
and steamed copra are pressed by wedge press, screw press or hydraulic press to
obtain coconut oil, which then goes through the refining, bleaching, and deodoriz-
ing processes (O’Brien and Timms 2004). This chapter will cover the preparation of
different oils from coconut, chemistry of coconut oils, blending of coconut oil with
other vegetable oils and biological activities of coconut oils.

2 Preparation of Different Oils from Coconut

Different coconut oils are produced from different parts of coconut by different
methods. Copra as well as refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) oils are produced
from dried coconut kernel, with a difference that RBD oil undergoes chemical refine-
ment and bleaching. The brown testa of the coconut is used for the preparation of
coconut testa oil (CTO), which is actually a byproduct of coconut oil preparation.
Compared to corpa oil (CO) and RBD oils, virgin coconut oil (VCO) is extracted
depend on a “wet method” using fresh coconut milk. As there is no specific method
of preparation of VCO has been established, all types of preparations that do not
involve refinement and alterations in the oil are considered as a virgin (Narayanankutty
et al. 2018).

2.1 Corpa Oil

Copra is the dried coconut kernel. The fresh coconut kernel is dried in the oven or
sunlight and the oil is collected by mechanical milling. The oil is collected and sun-­
dried to remove the moisture content (Narayanankutty et al. 2018).

2.2 Testa Oil

Coconut testa oil (CTO) is the emerging form, which can be extracted using isopro-
pyl alcohol from the coconut testa (Zhang et al. 2016). CTO is best obtained at a
temperature of 60 °C for a period of 3 h with the substrate to solvent ratio of 1:4 and
9 Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Oil 211

having a yield up to 63–76%. Since the extraction involves chemical solvents, CTO
has not yet been widely used for edible purposes.

2.3 Virgin Coconut Oil

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is extracted naturally from the fresh coconut kernel without
the application of high temperature or chemical treatment. Based on the mode of
preparation, several types of VCO are available (Narayanankutty et al. 2018).

2.3.1 Cold Extraction (C-VCO)

Cold processing is the method of VCO extraction without the aid of heat. In this
method, the coconut milk is subjected to chilling (2–8 °C) overnight and the sepa-
rated oil is collected by centrifugation, filtered and stored. This is a simpler and
cheapest method available (Narayanankutty et al. 2018).

2.3.2 Hot Extraction (H-VCO)

Hot extraction is traditionally used in Southern India for VCO preparation. In this
method, the coconut milk is subjected to a moderate temperature of up to 100 °C. The
processing lasts for 60 min or until the oil get completely separated from the milk
then the oil is collected by filtration. This heating process helps to increase the release
of bound phenolic acids into the oil and also yield is much higher. The oil prepared
in this way is being used conventionally in the Ayurvedic system of medicine for skin
ailments, especially for children (Narayanankutty et al. 2018).

2.3.3 Fermentation Technique (F-VCO)

The fermentation method uses bacterial activity to generate VCO has also been
proposed. It is mainly of two types-natural fermentation as well as induced fermen-
tation. In the natural fermentation method, the freshly grated coconut kernel is
extracted with its water to collect the coconut milk. It is then kept for 24–48 h under
room temperature (or up to a temperature of 45 °C) to allow fermentation and sepa-
ration of oil layer, which is scooped out, filtered and stored (Nevin and Rajamohan
2010). Masyithah (2017) prepared VCO by induced fermentation technique, where
they used Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus plantarum (strain 1041
IAM) for the extraction of VCO from coconut milk. L. plantarum, and L. delbrueckii
are also used in the fermentation process. However, studies using induced fermenta-
tion are quite rare and VCO produced by natural fermentation method is often
regarded as F-VCO.
212 A. Osman

2.3.4 Enzymatic Extraction Technique

Extraction of oil can be carried out using the enzymes in the aqueous extraction
process. This is due to the fact that plant cell walls consist of complex carbohydrate
molecules such as cellulose, hemicellulose, mannans, galactomannans, arabinoga-
lactans, pectin substances and protein (Shah et al. 2005). Coconut meat contains
about 10% of carbohydrate, in which 50% is cellulose and 75% of the cellulose is
made up with α-cellulose (Rosenthal et al. 1996). Oil can be found inside plant
cells, linked with proteins and a wide range of carbohydrate such as starch, cellu-
lose, hemicellulose, and pectins. Cell-wall degrading enzymes can be used to extract
oil by solubilizing the structural cell wall components of the oilseed. Man et al.
(1996) successfully extracted coconut oil with 1% enzyme mixture of cellulase,
α-amylase, polygalacturonase, and protease with an oil yield of 74%. The polyga-
lacturonase hydrolyses α-linkages of polygalacturonic acid of the polymer ran-
domly from the ends. An α-amylase randomly hydrolyzed α-linkages to liquefy
starch and produced maltose, whereas bacterial proteases were used to hydrolyze
the plant protein. The study showed that different enzymes were required to degrade
components of the structural cell wall including mannan, galactomannan, arabi-
noxylogactan and cellulose.

2.3.5 Wet Extraction

Wet processing or aqueous processing is the term used for the extraction of coconut
oil directly from coconut milk. This method eliminates the use of a solvent, which
reportedly may lower the investment cost and energy requirements. Furthermore, it
eliminates the RBD process (Villarino et al. 2007). Even though the concept appears
potentially attractive, however, the method yields comparatively low content of oil,
which has discouraged its commercial application (Rosenthal et al. 1996). The wet
processing can only be carried out by means of coconut milk by breaking the emul-
sion. This is rather difficult due to the high stability emulsion of coconut milk.
Destabilization can be done through three mechanisms. The first stage is creaming
by the action of gravitational force resulting in two phases, with the higher specific
gravity takes place at the top phase and the lower specific gravity phase moves
downward. The second stage is flocculation or clustering in which the oil phase
moves as a group, which does not involve the rupture of the interfacial film that
normally surrounds each globule and therefore does not change the original globule.
The last stage, coalescence is the most critical phase in destabilization. During this
stage, the interfacial area is ruptured; the globules joined together and reduced the
interfacial area (Onsaard et al. 2005). The wet process appears more desirable due
to the free usage of chemical solvents, thus more environmental friendly than the
solvent extraction. The method is also much simpler, which can be carried out at
home by anyone who is interested in producing natural oil.
9 Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Oil 213

2.3.6 Chilling, Freezing and Thawing Techniques

Attempts have been made to break the protein stabilized oil-in-water emulsion includ-
ing heating and centrifugation, freezing and thawing, chilling and thawing wherein the
coconut cream obtained after centrifugation (Seow and Gwee 1997). The emulsion was
centrifuged before chilling and thawing to allow better packing of the coconut oil glob-
ules. The temperature used were 10 °C and −4 °C for chilling and freezing process,
respectively while the thawing process was carried out in a water bath at 40 °C until the
coconut cream reached room temperature (25 °C). In addition, this action also helps in
removing undissolved solids after extraction. The removal of solids present in high
percentages in the dispersion of oilseed was important for efficient recovery of oil by
centrifugation (Rosenthal et al. 1996). The centrifugation step was followed to enable
the packing of cream oil globule to crystallize on lowering the temperature.
Centrifugation process was carried out from 2000 to 5000 g up to 6 min. During
thawing, the oil coalesced due to loss of spherical shape and formed large droplets of
varying sizes. Robledano-Luzuriage and Krauss-­Maffei were two processes known to
apply freeze and thaw operation in the extraction of coconut oil (Marina et al. 2009).
In the Robledano-Luzuriage process, fresh coconut kernel was comminuted and
pressed to obtain approximately equal amounts of emulsion and residue. The residue
was pressed again to obtain more emulsion and residue. The emulsion was centrifuged
to obtain a cream, skim milk and some solids or protein. The cream was subjected to
enzymatic action under closely controlled temperature and pH conditions. After the
freeze-thaw operation, the cream was centrifuged again to obtain the oil. The protein in
the skim milk was coagulated by heating, subsequently filtered and dried to produce
protein concentrate. The oil recovery reported in the Krauss-Maffei was 89%, which
was less than the conventional expeller process (95%). In this technique, husked coco-
nuts were autoclaved, shelled, and the coconut meat (the white solid endosperm inside
the coconut fruit) first sent through cutter and subsequently through a roller mill. Then
it was pressed in a hydraulic press and the emulsion was centrifuged to obtain the
cream and skim milk. The cream was heated to 92 °C and filtered to obtain high-quality
oil. The skim milk is heated to 98 °C in a flow heater to coagulate protein, which was
separated by centrifuging then drying. The residue from the hydraulic press was dried
and ground to obtain edible coconut flour. The study showed that a high recovery of oil
was obtained but the temperature employed was slightly high which might destroy
some of its minor components such as phenolic compounds.

3 Chemical Composition of Coconut Oil

3.1 Triacylglycerol and Fatty Acid Composition

Coconut oil contains a high proportion of glycerides of lower chain fatty acids.
The oil is highly stable towards atmospheric oxidation. The oil is characterized by
a low iodine value, high saponification value, high saturated fatty acids content and
214 A. Osman

the oil is liquid at 27 °C. Medium chain triglycerides (MCT) are a class of lipids in
which three saturated fats are bound to a glycerol backbone. What distinguishes
MCT from other triglycerides is the fact that each fat molecule is between 6 and 12
carbons in length (Babayan 1988). MCT are a component of many foods, with
coconut and palm oils being the dietary sources with the highest concentration of
MCT. MCT are also available as a dietary supplement (Heydinger and Nakhasi
1996). MCT have a different pattern of absorption and utilization than long-chain
triglycerides (LCT) that makeup 97% of dietary fats. For absorption of LCT to
occur, the fatty acid chains must be separated from the glycerol backbone by the
lipase enzyme. These fatty acids form micelles, are then absorbed and reattached to
glycerol, and the resultant triglycerides travel through the lymphatics en route to the
bloodstream. Up to 30% of MCT are absorbed intact across the intestinal barrier
and directly enter the portal vein. This allows for much quicker absorption and uti-
lization of MCT compared to LCT. MCT are transported into the mitochondria
independent of the carnitine shuttle, which is necessary for LCT mitochondrial
absorption. Oxidation of MCT provides 8.3 calories per gram, while LCT provides
9.2 calories per gram (Hoagland and Snider 1943). All fats and oils are composed of
triglyceride molecules, which are triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. The fats upon
hydrolysis yield fatty acids and glycerol. There are two methods of classifying fatty
acids, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids
(PUFA). The second method of classification is based on molecular size or length of
the carbon chain in the fatty acid. The vast majority of the fats and oils whether they
are saturated or unsaturated or from an animal or a plant, are composed of LCT. All
fats we eat consist of LCT while, coconut oil is unique because it is composed pre-
dominantly of MCT. The size of the fatty acid is extremely important because phys-
iological effects of medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil are distinctly different
from the long-chain fatty acids more commonly found in our diet (Furman et al.
1965). It is the MCT in coconut oil that makes it different from all other fats and for
the most part gives it its unique character and healing properties. Almost all of the
medium-­chain triglycerides used in research, medicine, and food products come
from coconut oil. MCT are easily digested, absorbed, and put to use nourishing the
body. Unlike other fats, they put little strain on the digestive system and provide a
quick source of energy necessary to promote healing. This is important for patients
who are using every ounce of strength they have to overcome serious illness or
injury. It’s no wonder why MCT are added to infant formulas. MCT is not only
found in coconut oil but also are natural and vital components of human breast milk.
MCT are considered essential nutrients for infants as well as for people with serious
digestive problems like cystic fibrosis (St-Onge et al. 2003). Like other essential
nutrients, one must get them directly from the diet. Bhatnagar et al. (2009) recorded
that the coconut (Cocos nucifera) contains 55–65% oil, having C12:0 as the major
fatty acid. Coconut oil has 90% saturates and is deficient in monounsaturates (6%),
polyunsaturates (1%), and total tocopherols (29 mg/kg). However, coconut oil con-
tains medium chain fatty acids (58%), which are easily absorbed into the body.
Fatty acid profiles (Figs. 9.1 and 9.2) are found to be similar in all the different
varieties of coconut oils such as CO, VCO or RBD oil. In CTO, there is comparatively
9 Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Oil 215

Fig. 9.1 Saturated fatty acids profiles in the different varieties of coconut oils

Fig. 9.2 Unsaturated fatty acid profiles in the different varieties of coconut oils

a higher level of unsaturated fatty acids than CO and VCO, with a c­ oncomitant
reduction in the medium-chain saturated fatty acid (MCFA) (Appaiah et al. 2014).
The other oils contain high amounts of MCFA. Among these, lauric acid (C12:0)
forms the predominant fatty acid (45–52%), followed by myristic acid (15–19%)
and palmitic acid (10–11%). As indicated by the triglyceride composition of these
oils, the major triacylglycerol is formed by tri-lauryl glycerols (22.2–23.9%). On
the other hand, CTO contains higher levels of Capryl-lauryl-lauric glycerol (18.7%),
followed by tri-lauryl glycerol (14.3%) and lauryl-lauryl-oleic glycerol (13.4%)
(Appaiah et al. 2014).
216 A. Osman

Fig. 9.3 The common phenolics in coconut oils

3.2 Phenolic Compounds Composition

Phenolics are another main group of bioactive compounds present in edible oils
prepared from coconut. Several studies have analyzed the phenolic content and
composition in various types of coconut oils, among which VCO prepared by hot
pressing and fermentation methods have higher levels of phenolic antioxidants
(Narayanankutty et al. 2016; Seneviratne and Sudarshana Dissanayake 2008).
Individual phenolics present in coconut oil are p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, caffeic
acid, quercetin and catechins wherein the level of these are found to be higher in
fermented-VCO compared to CO and RBD oil (Illam et al. 2017). The common
phenolics including phenolic acids in different coconut oils are presented in Fig. 9.3.

4 Blending of Coconut Oil with Other Vegetable Oils

Coconut oil, because of its long shelf life and melting point of 24.4 °C, was fre-
quently used in the baking industry. However, a negative campaign against saturated
fats and tropical oils resulted in the replacement of coconut oil with hydrogenated
fats (Enig et al. 1990). Coconut oil is rich in saturated fatty acids (SFA) (93%).
However, coconut oil also contains MCFA (60%), especially C12:0 (50%). MCFA
(C6:0, C8:0, C10:0, C12:0) are smaller than the standard storage unit of fat (C14),
and hence are burnt for energy rather than stored in the body (Kiyasu et al. 1952).
Consumption of a diet rich in MCT improves upper body adiposity in overweight
9 Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Oil 217

men, hence MCT may be considered as a potential tool in the prevention of weight
gain and obesity (St-Onge et al. 2003).
C12:0 (50%) and C10:0 (6%), which are found in coconut oil in high amounts, are
known for their unique antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal properties. Lauric
acid in coconut oil becomes 2-mono-laurin in the gut and dissolves the lipid envelope
that protects most pathogenic bacteria and viruses. It also attacks pathogenic yeast and
parasites (Enig 1998). Research has also shown that natural coconut oil in the diet
leads to a normalization of body lipids, protects against alcohol damage to the liver,
and improves the immune system’s anti-inflammatory response (Enig 1993).
Addition of coconut oil to other vegetable oils improves their oxidative stability
indicating that coconut oil can be used as a natural antioxidant through the blending
process. Coconut oil is very stable against oxidation and hence not prone to perox-
ide formation. Therefore, the incorporation of coconut oil to other oxidation suscep-
tible vegetable oils increases the stability of the blends. The prolonged use of
coconut oil for cooking by coconut oil consumers make their diets deficient in
PUFA, MUFA, and natural antioxidants which are present in other vegetable oils.
Bhatnagar et al. (2009) prepared blends of coconut oil (20–80% incorporation of
coconut oil) with other vegetable oils (i.e. palm, rice bran, sesame, mustard, sun-
flower, groundnut, safflower, and soybean). Seven blends prepared for coconut oil
consumers contained higher amounts of monounsaturates (8–36%), polyunsaturates
(4–35%), total tocopherols (111–582 mg/kg), and increased up to 5–33% of DPPH
(2,2-diphenyl1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity. In addition, seven blends pre-
pared for non-coconut oil consumers contained 11–13% of medium chain fatty
acids. Coconut oil:sunflower oil and coconut oil:rice bran oil blends also exhibited
36.7–89.7% and 66.4–80.5% reductions in peroxide formation in comparison to the
individual sunflower oil and rice bran oil, respectively. It was concluded that blend-
ing coconut oil with other vegetable oils provides MCFA and oxidative stability to
the blends, while coconut oil will be enriched with polyunsaturates, monounsatu-
rates, and natural antioxidants.

5 Biological Effects of Coconut Oil

5.1 Anti-inflammatory

Literature suggested that inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, tumor necrosis

factor-α (TNF-α) and expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-кB) may be
involved in MTX hepatorenal damage (El-Sheikh et al. 2015). Anti-inflammatory
activity of VCO is proven several years back and thereafter, various studies have
proposed that the anti-inflammatory activity of VCO and its mechanism of action in
various experimental models. Studies conducted by Intahphuak et al. (2010) showed
the protective effect of F-VCO in granuloma formation in chemically induced ear
and paw oedema models. F-VCO also reduced adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats, by
downregulating the expressions of cyclooxygenase, inducible nitric oxide synthase
218 A. Osman

and TNF-α (Vysakh et al. 2014). A study conducted by Zakaria et al. (2011)
observed that F-VCO efficiently reduce acute inflammation, however in chronic
models, it was found to be less effective. Together with anti-inflammatory activities,
anti-nociceptive and analgesic activities are also reported for F-VCO (Intahphuak
et al. 2010; Zakaria et al. 2011). Other VCO preparations are not yet evaluated for
their anti-inflammatory activity.
Varma et al. (2019) studied the anti-inflammatory in vitro and skin protective
properties of VCO. VCO has been traditionally used as a moisturizer since centu-
ries by people in the tropical region. Clinical studies have revealed that VCO
improved the symptoms of skin disorders by moisturizing and soothing the skin.
However, the mechanistic action of VCO and its benefits on skin has not been elu-
cidated in vitro. The cytotoxicity (CTC50) of VCO was 706.53 and 787.15 mg/mL
in THP-1 (Human monocytes) and HaCaT (Human keratinocytes) cells, respec-
tively. VCO inhibited TNF-a (62.34%), IFN-g (42.66%), IL-6 (52.07%), IL-8
(53.98%) and IL-5 (51.57%), respectively in THP-1 cells. Involucrin (INV) and
filaggrin (FLG) content increased by 47.53% and 40.45%, respectively in HaCaT
cells. VCO increased the expression of Aquaporin-3 (AQP3), involucrin (INV) and
filaggrin (FLG) and showed moderate UV protection in HaCaT cells. In vitro skin
irritation studies in the Reconstructed human epidermis (RHE) and NIH3T3 cells
showed that VCO is a non-skin irritant (IC50 >1000 mg/mL) and non-phototoxic
(PIF <2). It was suggested that the anti-inflammatory activity of VCO could be
due to suppressing inflammatory markers and protecting the skin by enhancing
skin barrier function. Overall, the results warrant the use of VCO in skin care
formulations.

5.2 Antimicrobial Activity

VCO is traditionally used as an antibacterial agent. It has been shown that F-VCO
possesses antibacterial activities against a variety of strains including Candida
(Ogbolu et al. 2007) and Staphylococcus (Tangwatcharin and Khopaibool 2012).
VCO also reduces plaque-related gingivitis, which is a bacterial infection induced
oral disease (Peedikayil et al. 2015). Possible antimicrobial activities of VCO may
be attributed to lauric acid, which forms the main fatty acids of VCO (Nakatsuji
et al. 2009). Monolaurin compounds are the major metabolite which is responsible
for its activity (Manohar et al. 2013).
Peng et al. (2016) studied the effect of enhanced VCO, containing about 57.4%
triglycerides, 26.8% diglycerides, 1.51% monoglycerides and 14.1% free fatty acids,
against clinical mastitis pathogens [S. aureus (ATCC 31885), S. agalactiae (ATCC
12927) and S. dysagalactiae (ATCC 27957)]. The enhanced VCO had shown its anti-
microbial efficacy against three potent mastitis causal agents. The amount of enhanced
VCO used to treat mastitis-induced cows and the number of treatments applied needed
to be reduced to avoid the milk clotting and udders swelling as a result of the acidic
characteristics of enhanced VCO.
9 Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Oil 219

Pritha and Karpagam (2018) extracted coconut shell oil from raw coconut shells,
collected from Thiruvallur District using various solvents (i.e., ethanol, chloroform,
acetone, petroleum ether and water). The antibacterial activity against the growth of
Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumo-
nia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi was performed. The antifungal
activity against the growth of Epidermophyton floccosum, Aspergillus niger,
Penicillium, Microsporum canis, Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus were
tested. The extracts were compared with standards like novobiocin, amoxillin and
ketoconazole for antibacterial and antifungal activity, respectively. The results indi-
cated that the zone of inhibition increased when increasing the concentration of the
extracts. Among the five extracts of coconut shell oil, the ethanol extract exhibited
maximum antibacterial activity against bacterial strains. Ethanol and petroleum ether
extract showed maximum inhibitory activity against Epidermophyton and Candida
albicans.

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