Coconut Oil

COCONUT OIL

Synonyms

Coconut oil, coconut butter, copra oil.

Biological Source

Coconut oil is the oil expressed from the dried solid part of endosperm of coconut, Cocos nucifera L., belonging to family Palmae.

Geographical Source

Coconut is widely distributed throughout the world. It is largely cultivated in African and southeast Asian countries. Coconut also known as copra is a dietary as well as industrial product throughout the world. Large quantity of oil is produced in India, Sri Lanka Malaysia, South Africa, China, Indonesia, and other countries.

Characteristics

In temperate region below 23°C coconut oil is concrete oil. Coconut butter is a white or pearl white unctuous mass, odourless or with peculiar coconut odour and bland taste. Its melting point is 23°C to 26°C. It is soluble in two volumes of alcohol at 60°C but highly soluble in chloroform, ether and carbon disulphide. The oil readily becomes rancid on exposure to air. The coconut oil has the highest saponification value, 250–264 and the lowest iodine value, 7–10 among the vegetable oils in common use.

                                  Coconut tree

Chemical Composition

Coconut obtained from the hard, dried endocarp consists of a mixture of triglycerides of saturated fatty acids. The oil contains about 95% of saturated fatty acids with 8 and 10 carbon atoms. It shows the presence of caprylic acid, 2%; capric acid, 50–80%; lauric acid, 3%; and myristic acid about 1%. 

Uses

Coconut oil is used as dietary products in many areas of the world. In European pharmacopoeia, fractionated coconut oil is known as ‘Thin vegetable oil’. It is useful as a nonaqueous medium for the oral administration of some medicaments. Fractionated coconut oil is used as a basis for the preparation of oral suspension of drugs unstable in aqueous media. Diets based on medium chain triglycerides including preparations made from coconut oil are used in conditions associated with mal - absorption of fat such as cystic fibrosis, enteritis, and steatorrhoea. Abdominal pain and diarrhoea have been reported in patients taking diet based on medium chain triglycerides.

Marketed Products

It is one of the ingredients of the preparations known as Lip balm and Evecare (Himalaya Drug Company).