Coconut oil fatty acids composition

Botanically, the coconut fruit is considered a drupe, where the exocarp and endocarp surround a single shell of hardened endocarp containing a kernel inside.

It was found that coconut oil was composed of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) which correspond to 64% of total fat and make it unique and remarkable. In addition to MCFAs, coconut oil contains phospholipids, tocopherol and other minor constituents.

Coconut oil is composed of the fatty acids, caprylic acid C -8:0 (8%), capric acid, C 10:0,(7%), lauric acid C-12:0, (49%), myristic acid C-14:0(8%), palmitic acid C-16:0 (8%), stearic acid C-18:0 (2%), oleic acid C-18:1 (6%) and 2% of C-18:2 linoleic acid.

Coconut oil is also referred to as lauric oil since it contains approximately 40–50% of lauric acid of the overall fatty acid (FA) composition. Coconut oil is the highest natural source of lauric acid. The significant presence of lauric acid plays an important role in making coconut oil chemically unique among other oils.

Researches showed that coconut oil is rich in medium chain saturated fatty acids (lauric acid) which allows them to be directly absorbed from the intestine and sent straight to the liver to be rapidly used for energy production and thus MCFAs do not participate in the biosynthesis and transport of cholesterol.

Fatty acids can be classified as saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs).

Coconut oil contains 92% of SFAs, which is significantly greater than in other commonly consumed vegetable oils. A portion size of 100 g of coconut oil is found to contain 890 kcal and 82.5 g of saturated fat.
Coconut oil fatty acids composition

Fatty acid consumption can reduce risk of Alzheimer's

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disorder that is characterized by progressive memory loss, intellectual decline, and eventually global cognitive impairment.

The brain of an Alzheimer’s patient undergoes more severe changes than the brain of a healthy person. 

Research has suggested that people with Alzheimer’s disease may have unusually low levels of essential fatty acids in their brains.

Essential fatty acids must obtain for human diet to maintain good health.

The polyunsaturated fats found in salmon and mackerel and the monounsaturated fats found in canola oil and soybean oil are high in essential fatty acids, called omega-3 fatty acids.

A diet rich in unsaturated fatty acids and unhydrogenated fat was found to protect against Alzheimer’s disease, in contrast to a diet rich in saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids.

Saturated animal fat in the diet increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Consumption of fish containing high levels of omega-3 fatty acid counteracts some of that risk.

The effect was still present when socioeconomic factors were taken into account, as these factors are linked to both the reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and the fish consumption.

A study carried out in the United States found that Alzheimer’s disease was 60% less in people that consumed about 60 mg DHA per day or at least one fish meal per week than in people that ate very little fish.

A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that an increased risk of dementia was found to be associated with a higher ration of arachidonic acid to DHA and a higher ration of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids, especially among subjects who are depressed. Depression is frequently associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Fatty acid consumption can reduce risk of Alzheimer's

Waxes of lipid

Simple lipids containing 3-carbon alcohol glycerol linked to one to three fatty acids or their derivatives. 

Examples of simple lipids are triglycerides, steroids, wax ester and waxes.

A wax is a complex, varying mixture of lipids with long fatty acid tails bonded to long chain alcohols or carbon rings.

The molecules pack tightly, so the result substance is firm and water repellent. Waxes in the surface of apples and other fruits from temperate zones are solids or semisolids pates, consisting of terpenes, ceryl cerotate, ceryl palmitate and other esters.

Waxes dissolved in fat solvents, and their solubility is dependent on temperature. Waxes are totally insoluble in water, a consequence of their hydrocarbon, non-polar, nature. They can wet and disperse pigments and can be emulsified with water which makes them useful in the furniture, pharmaceutical and food industries. 

The role of waxes is to protect the surface of plant leaves, stems and seeds from dehydration and infections by microorganisms.

Waxes also present in fish oils, especially in sperm whale blubber and whale head oil, which contain a ‘reservoir’ of spermaceti wax.
Waxes of lipid