ABSTRACT
Background: COVID-19 caused by the novel SARS Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is causing serious problems in the global public health sphere. In the absence of a powerful antiviral treatment, the exploration of plant-based products with antiviral potential has gained interest. Scope and Approach: This commentary presents the prospects of utilizing coconut oil directly or its derivatives such as monolaurin in treating COVID-19 with a special emphasis on their biochemical characteristics features. The potential pitfalls therein and way forward are also highlighted. Key findings and conclusions: There are enough research-backed evidences to demonstrate the antiviral capabilities of coconut oil and monolaurin. The possibility of developing a medium-chain fatty acidbased nasal spray as a prophylactic or therapeutic is also discussed. Nevertheless, the potential impediments in devising suitable therapeutic models to treat SARS-CoV-2, are presented.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.
ABSTRACT
Virgin Coconut oil (VCO), owing to its functional properties (important in COVID-19), is costly and, therefore, susceptible to adulteration with other cheaper oils like coconut oil. An enzyme-based biosensor confirmative test of VCO was constructed by co-immobilizing enzymes onto a glassy carbon electrode. The performance of the biosensor was optimized at a potential of +0.5 V with 45 mg gelatin, 30 mg BSA coupled with 2.5% glutaraldehyde at pH 7.0 with an incubation time of 1 hr. Adulterated samples of VCO with coconut oil (CO) were analyzed. The concentration of diglyceride (DG) was estimated from the empirical relation, which showed a linear increase with the increase in adulteration. The developed biosensor was validated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods using a paired sample t test at a 5% significance level. The biosensor could detect adulteration in VCO with CO above 20% within 3-5 s and can be reused for 25 days.
ABSTRACT
Poria cocos is a saprophytic fungus that grows in diverse species of Pinus. Its sclerotium, called fu-ling or hoelen, has been used in various traditional Chinese medicines and health foods for thousands of years, and in several modern proprietary traditional Chinese medicinal products. It has extensive clinical indications, including sedative, diuretic, and tonic effects. Pachymic acid (PA) is the main lanostane-type triterpenoid in Poria cocos. Evidence suggests that PA has various biological properties such as cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycemic, antiviral, antibacterial, sedative-hypnotic, and anti-ischemia/reperfusion activities. Although considerable advancements have been made, some fundamental and intricate issues remain unclear, such as the underlying mechanisms of PA. The present study aimed to summarize the biological properties and therapeutic potential of PA. The biosynthetic, pharmacokinetic, and metabolic pathways of PA, and its underlying mechanisms were also comprehensively summarized.
ABSTRACT
Relevant fields which require ample attention in the coconut sector are discussed, including: rejuvenation, replanting and plantation development;production of quality planting materials with high productivity, new propagation methods, and seed/seedling sharing;development of scientific cultivation suitable for inter/multi species crops and coordination of international research;integrated processing and value addition;awareness raising, marketing and promotion;and formation of a marketing strategy for coconut value added products.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to devastate the world's health and economy, affecting all aspects of life leading to widespread social disruption. Even as several vaccines have been developed, their availability in developing countries is limited and their efficacy against the variants of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2) needs to be continuously assessed. The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged that vaccines alone will not overcome the global challenges of COVID-19. Medicinal plants may provide the needed support. Herein, we identify Philippine medicinal plants that possess phytochemicals with potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity and/or immunomodulatory properties that may strengthen one's immune system against COVID-19. These plants were selected from 100 of the best-studied Philippine medicinal plants with antiviral and immunomodulatory properties. The general antiviral and specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities and immunomodulatory properties of the phytochemicals that these plants contained were searched. While many compounds assessed individually using in vitro and in silico techniques suggest potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 or immunomodulatory effects, this review sought to identify the medicinal plants which contain these compounds and which, based on literature, have the best potential application against COVID-19. These plants are Allium spp. bulbs (bawang), Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees leaves (sinta), Cocos nucifera L. oil (niyog), Euphorbia hirta L. leaves (tawa-tawa), Euphorbia neriifolia L. leaves (sorosoro), Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves (malunggay), Ocimum basilicum L. leaves (balanoy), Piper nigrum L. seeds (paminta), Vitex negundo L. leaves (lagundi), and Zingiber officinale Roscoe rhizome (luya). This review provides a shortlist that can guide research on possible solutions to COVID-19 using Philippine medicinal plants.
ABSTRACT
Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is coconut oil that is processed in a simple way without involving synthetic chemicals. Production methods that are commonly carried out on a household scale or micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) include the methods of induced, salting, centrifugation, and fermentation. This process causes the lauric acid content of VCO to be the highest compared to the other 2 oils, which is 53.70-54.06%, while ordinary coconut oil is 2.81% and palm oil is 0.45%. The high content of lauric acid makes VCO beneficial for health, including increasing endurance and accelerating the healing process of disease. In national and global and markets, until the 1990s VCO developed very slowly. But in 2020 the VCO market began to grow because people use this product as an antivirus against Covid-19. This paper explores the advantages, manufacturing technology, and trade of local and global VCO. Research results that apply VCO to food products and VCO-based food products that have the potential to be developed on the MSME scale are presented. Based on market potential, technology, and business capital, the most potential VCO-based product to be developed is chocolate bar.