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Botany
Coconut is an unarmed, erect,
tall palm reaching a height of 25 meters. Trunk is stout, 30 to 50
cm in diameter, thickened at the base; marked with annular scars.
Leaves are crowded at the apex of the trunk, 3.5 to 6 meters long, with a stout
petiole, 1 meter or more in length. Leaflets are bright green, numerous, linear-lanceolate,
flaccid, 60 to 100 cm long. Spadix is about 1 meter long, erect, drooping,
straw-colored, simply branched. Male flowers are small and yellowish with small, ovate, valvate sepals and oblong, valvate petals. Female flowers are much larger, rounded, with imbricate sepals and shorter convolute petals. Fruit is variable in size, shape and color,
obovoid to subglobose, often obscurely 3-angled, 15 to 25 cm long.
Endosperm forms a thick white layer of fleshy fibrous substance adherent to
the membranous testa which is adherent to the stony-black shell. The shell is covered
by a fibrous husk. The embryo is opposite one pore.
Distribution
Extensively cultivated
in the Philippines, especially in regions where the dry season is not too prolonged.
Native of Polynesia.
Pantropic in cultivation.
Constituents
- Fixed oil, 57.5
- 71%; volatile oil, wax containing the myricyl ester of cerotic
acid.
- Coconut oil is composed mostly of triglycerides of saturated fatty acids - Lauric (dodecanoic acid, 40 to 55%) and myristic acid (tetradecanoic acid, 15 to 20%), and other fatty acids at concentrations of 5 to 10 %.
- Meat: potein, 6.3%; vitamins A, B, and C; nonyl alcohol; methyl
heptyl ketone; methyl undecyl ketone; capronic, decylic, caprylic,
lauric and myristic acids; lecithin; stigmasterin, phytosterin;
choline; globulin; galactoaraban; galactomannan.
- Water, 93%; protein, 0.5%; ash, 1%; saccharose; oxidase; catalase,
diastase.
- Phytochemical screening of constituents of endosperm showed the presence of terpenoids, alkaloids, resins, glycosides and steroids. Macronutrient analyses yielded carbohydrates, proteins, reducing sugar, fats and oil.
- Coconut water contains sugar, fiber, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals with an isotonic electrolyte balance.
Properties
Astringent.
Roots considered antiscorbutic and diuretic.
Fresh coconut water considered astriingent and possibly vermifuge. Also considered demulcent, and aperient in large doses.
Endosperm cocomilk is considered refrigerant, nutrient, aperient, diuretic and anthelmintic.
Parts used
Roots, bark, "bloom" of the leaf, the cabbage, flowers, and the fruit (husk, shell, water, endosperm, oil.)
Uses
Folkloric
- Myriads of use in
the traditional systems worldwide: abscesses, asthma, baldness, burns
and bruises,, cough and colds, kidney stones, scabies, ulcers, among
many others.
- Constipation: Take 1 to 2 tablespoons of gata (cream).
- Dandruff: Massage oil on scalp, leave overnight, and wash hair.
- Diarrhea and/or vomiting: Drink water of young fruit, as tolerated.
Water from the young coconut has been used as a substiture for dextrose
infusion in emergent situations during World War II.
- Dry skin: Apply oil and massage into affected area.
- Young roots astriingent for sore throats.
- Ash of bark used for scabies.
- In New Guinea, young
leaves chewed to a past and applied to cuts to stop the bleeding.
- In Java used for dysentery and other intestinal complaints.
- In Amboinia used for coughs.
- Malays use poultice of roots in syphilis and gonorrhea; also, for rheumatism.
- In India, young roots employed as astringent gargle for sore throat. Also, boiled with ginger and salt, used in fevers.
- In the Gold Coast, bark used for curing toothache and earache.
- In Nigeria, coconut water twice daily prescribed for treatment of diabetes.
- In India ash of the bark used as dentrifice and as antiseptic. Ash is also used for scabies. The soft, downy, light-brown substance on the lower surface of the leaves used as styptic. Husk used in the treatment of tapeworms; in Punjab and Cashmere, used for throat inflammation. The tar obtained from burning the shell considered rubifacient; used for ringworm, itches and other parasitic infections.
- In India,
a toddy-poultice (fresh toddy and rice flour) used as application for gangrenous ulcerations, indolent ulcers, and carbuncles.
- In Malaya. ash obtained from the coconut shell used for swellings, pains in the stomach, and for rheumatism. Coconut water is also used as diuretic.
- In Mexico, coconut water used as diuretic and anthelmintic.
- Roots used for strengthening the gums.
- Decoction of ground roots drunk in cases of small pox.
- Flowers reported to be astringent; chewed in immature state for gonorrhea. Flowers have also been used for diabetes, dysentery, leprosy and urinary discharges.
- In Mexico, decoction of the fibers of the trunk used as diuretic.
- Tar obtained from burning the shell is used for toothache.
- Water is fed to infants with diarrhea.
- In emergencies, water has been used as intravenous drips. Anectodal reports of use during cholera epidemics.
Food
- Use oil for cooking; take meat and/or gata (cream) as food.
- The ubod part is a delicacy used in a variety of preparations: lumpia,
achara, salads.
-
A good source of iron and calcium.
- The cocomilk, the juice expressed from the grated endosperm was a popular substitute for cow's milk during World War II.
Others
- Most versatile of
all palms with its wide range of utility : as lumber, food, drink, alcohol,
vinegar, thatching material, manufacture of baskets, rope, hats, brooms;
shell for making charcoal and utensils as cups, bowls, spoons; oil for
food, massage, and as base for medications for external use; cooking,
illumination, soap making; decorative for celebrations and religious
rituals.
- Lauric acid, the dominant fatty acid in coconut oil, finds application
in cooking, detergents, soaps and cosmetics.
- In emergencies, sterile coconut water in the unopened coconut fruit has been used as intravenous drips. Anectodal reports of use during cholera epidemics and as emergency transfusions during World War II.
Coconut oil and MCFA
(nedium chain fatty acids)
- Increasingly popular,
natural coconuit oil is now being touted as the most beneficial of all
oils. Although high in saturated fat, it is the richest natural source
of health-promoting MCFAs (medium-chain fatty acids). The recommendation
is 3 1/2 teaspoons (50 gms) of coconut oil daily, estimated from the
amount equivalent to the MCFAs found in human breast milk, known to
be effective in nourishing and protecting infants Alternative sources
are:
| 3 1/2
teaspoons of pure coconut oil |
| 7 ounces
of fresh coconut meat (about half a coconut) |
| 2 3/4
cups of dried, shredded coconut |
| 10 ounces
of coconut milk |
There is no known toxicity
for coconut oil. The FDA includes it in its GRAS list (Generally
Recommended As Safe). An easy supplement would be to use it as
cooking oil. It tolerates moderately high-cooking temperatures,
but best to keep it below smoking point of 350 degrees. As in
any other cooking oil, avoid overheating because of toxic by-products.
When available, the best is the "virgin" coconut oil,
made from fresh coconuts, extracted by boiling, fermentation,
refrigeration, mechanical press or centrifuge, not subjected
to high temperatures or chemical solvents.
Also available as RBD (Refined,
Bleached, and Deodorized) coconut oil, usually made from dried coconut,
copra, that might have undergone sun-drying, smoking or kiln processing,
using higher temperatures and chemical solvents. Consumers beware, there
are cochin oils, that may be labeled "virgin" which may be
made from cheap sun-dried copra, gaining impurities and mold in the
process. (Source: The Coconut Oil Miracle}
Studies
• Analgesic / Antioxidant:
Antinociceptive and free radical scavenging activities of Cocos nucifera
L. (Palmae) husk fiber aqueous extract: The study demonstrated
the analgesic and radical scavenging properties of CN aqueous extract
from the husk fiber. Topical treatment of rabbits with the extract did not induce significant dermic or ocular irritation.
• Antioxidant: In vitro evaluation of antioxidant
properties of Cocos nucifera Linn. water: The antioxidant
activity as most significant in fresh samples of coconut water, diminishing
with heat. Maturity also drastically decreased the scavenging ability.
The scavenging ability may be partly attributed to the ascorbic acid, an important constituent of coconut water.
• Hypertension:
The control of hypertension by use of coconut water and mauby:
two tropical food drinks provided significant decreases, approximately double the largest values seen with single interventions.
• Anti-neoplastic / Husk Fiber: Study of aqueous extracts
of the husk showed antitumoral activity against a leukmia cell line.
Study suggests a very inexpensive source of new antineoplastic and anti-multidrug
resistant drugs.
• Burn Wound Healing Property: Study concluded that the oil of Cocos nucifera is an effective burn wound healing agent. There was significant improvement in burn wound contraction in the group treated with the combination of CN and silver sulphadiazine. It suggests C nocifera can be a cheap and effective adjuvant to other topical agents.
• Anti-Ulcerogenic: A study of warm water crude extract of coconut milk and a coconut water dispersion showed that coconut milk and water had protective effects on ulcerated gastric mucosa. The coconut milk provided stronger protection on indomethacin-induced ulceration than coconut water in rats.
• Antihelmintic: A study of the liquid extracted from the bark of the green coconut and butanol extract on mice showed that the Cocos nucifera extracts may be useful in the control of intestinal nematodes.
• Protein Content: Study showed native coconut proteins consisted of four major polypeptides. The proteins had a relatively high level of glutamic acid, arginine and aspartic acid.
• Anti-Neoplastic Activity: Study of aqueous extracts of Cocos nucifera showed antitumoral activity against leukemia cell line K562 and suggests a potential for an inexpensive source of new antineoplastic and anti-multidrug resistant drugs.
• Antimicrobial / Coconut Oil Cream Formulation: Study showed that coconut oil can be formulated into an elegant cream which is active on both fungal and bacterial organisms.
• Antimalarial: Study showed the crude methanol extract to contain phytochemical constituents that significantly reduced the parasitaemia in all 3 in vivo assessment assays. There was no significant increase in survival time of the infected mice. Results suggest the Malaysian folkloric medicinal application of C. nucifera has pharmacologic basis.
• Cardiotonic Activity of Coconut Water: Study showed undiluted coconut water showed better responses compared to diluted coconut water. The dilution of coconut water restores cardiac activity on Frog's heart, ie., decreasing rapidity and force of contraction.
Availability
Ubiquitous in the rural
landscape; common cultivation as a plantation tree.
Commerce of coconut oil capsules, virgin coconut oil. |
