Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 26 in total

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  1. Mohamad NE, Yeap SK, Lim KL, Yusof HM, Beh BK, Tan SW, et al.
    Chin Med, 2015;10:3.
    PMID: 25699088 DOI: 10.1186/s13020-015-0030-4
    Pineapple (Ananas comosus) was demonstrated to be hepatoprotective. This study aims to investigate the reversing effects of pineapple vinegar on paracetamol-induced liver damage in murine model.
  2. Yeap SK, Omar AR, Ho WY, Beh BK, Ali AM, Alitheen NB
    PMID: 23800124 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-13-145
    Rhaphidophora korthalsii (Araceae) is a root-climber plant which has been widely used in Chinese traditional medicine for cancer and skin disease treatment. Previous reports have recorded its immunomodulatory effects on mice splenocyte and human peripheral blood. This study investigated the potential immunostimulatory effect of Rhaphidophora korthalsii on human PBMC enriched NK cell.
  3. Mohd Ali N, Mohd Yusof H, Long K, Yeap SK, Ho WY, Beh BK, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2013;2013:693613.
    PMID: 23484140 DOI: 10.1155/2013/693613
    Mung bean is a hepatoprotective agent in dietary supplements. Fermentation and germination processes are well recognized to enhance the nutritional values especially the concentration of active compounds such as amino acids and GABA of various foods. In this study, antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of freeze-dried mung bean and amino-acid- and GABA-enriched germinated and fermented mung bean aqueous extracts were compared. Liver superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), nitric oxide (NO) levels, and serum biochemical profile such as aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), triglycerides (TG), and cholesterol and histopathological changes were examined for the antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of these treatments. Germinated and fermented mung bean have recorded an increase of 27.9 and 7.3 times of GABA and 8.7 and 13.2 times of amino acid improvement, respectively, as compared to normal mung bean. Besides, improvement of antioxidant levels, serum markers, and NO level associated with better histopathological evaluation indicated that these extracts could promote effective recovery from hepatocyte damage. These results suggested that freeze-dried, germinated, and fermented mung bean aqueous extracts enriched with amino acids and GABA possessed better hepatoprotective effect as compared to normal mung bean.
  4. Yeap SK, Abu N, Mohamad NE, Beh BK, Ho WY, Ebrahimi S, et al.
    PMID: 26335427 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-015-0832-z
    The progression of breast cancer is increasing at an alarming rate, particularly in western countries. Meanwhile, the lower incidence in Asian countries could be attributed to the heavy incorporation of green leaves vegetables or spices in their diets. Murraya koenigii (MK) or often times known as curry leaves are common spice used mostly in tropical countries. Anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive effects of MK aqueous extract on 4T1 breast cancer cell-challenged mice were evaluated.
  5. Zamberi NR, Abu N, Mohamed NE, Nordin N, Keong YS, Beh BK, et al.
    Integr Cancer Ther, 2016 Dec;15(4):NP53-NP66.
    PMID: 27230756
    BACKGROUND: Kefir is a unique cultured product that contains beneficial probiotics. Kefir culture from other parts of the world exhibits numerous beneficial qualities such as anti-inflammatory, immunomodulation, and anticancer effects. Nevertheless, kefir cultures from different parts of the world exert different effects because of variation in culture conditions and media. Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women, and metastasis is the major cause of death associated with breast cancer. The antimetastatic and antiangiogenic effects of kefir water made from kefir grains cultured in Malaysia were studied in 4T1 breast cancer cells.

    METHODS: 4T1 cancer cells were treated with kefir water in vitro to assess its antimigration and anti-invasion effects. BALB/c mice were injected with 4T1 cancer cells and treated orally with kefir water for 28 days.

    RESULTS: Kefir water was cytotoxic toward 4T1 cells at IC50 (half-maximal inhibitory concentration) of 12.5 and 8.33 mg/mL for 48 and 72 hours, respectively. A significant reduction in tumor size and weight (0.9132 ± 0.219 g) and a substantial increase in helper T cells (5-fold) and cytotoxic T cells (7-fold) were observed in the kefir water-treated group. Proinflammatory and proangiogenic markers were significantly reduced in the kefir water-treated group.

    CONCLUSIONS: Kefir water inhibited tumor proliferation in vitro and in vivo mainly through cancer cell apoptosis, immunomodulation by stimulating T helper cells and cytotoxic T cells, and anti-inflammatory, antimetastatic, and antiangiogenesis effects. This study brought out the potential of the probiotic beverage kefir water in cancer treatment.

  6. Beh BK, Mohamad NE, Yeap SK, Ky H, Boo SY, Chua JYH, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2017 07 27;7(1):6664.
    PMID: 28751642 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-06235-7
    Recently, food-based bioactive ingredients, such as vinegar, have been proposed as a potential solution to overcome the global obesity epidemic. Although acetic acid has been identified as the main component in vinegar that contributes to its anti-obesity effect, reports have shown that vinegar produced from different starting materials possess different degrees of bioactivity. This study was performed to compare the anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory effects of synthetic acetic acid vinegar and Nipa vinegar in mice fed a high-fat diet. In this work, mice were fed a high-fat diet for 33 weeks. At the start of week 24, obese mice were orally fed synthetic acetic acid vinegar or Nipa vinegar (0.08 and 2 ml/kg BW) until the end of week 33. Mice fed a standard pellet diet served as a control. Although both synthetic acetic acid vinegar and Nipa vinegar effectively reduced food intake and body weight, a high dose of Nipa vinegar more effectively reduced lipid deposition, improved the serum lipid profile, increased adipokine expression and suppressed inflammation in the obese mice. Thus, a high dose of Nipa vinegar may potentially alleviate obesity by altering the lipid metabolism, inflammation and gut microbe composition in high-fat-diet-induced obese mice.
  7. Mohamad NE, Keong Yeap S, Beh BK, Romli MF, Yusof HM, Kristeen-Teo YW, et al.
    J Sci Food Agric, 2018 Jan;98(2):534-540.
    PMID: 28631270 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.8491
    BACKGROUND: Vinegar is widely used as a food additive, in food preparation and as a food supplement. This study compared the phenolic acid profiles and in vivo toxicities, and antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects of coconut, nipah and pineapple juice vinegars, which were respectively prepared via a two-step fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae 7013 INRA and Acetobacter aceti vat Europeans.

    RESULTS: Pineapple juice vinegar, which had the highest total phenolic acid content, also exhibited the greatest in vitro antioxidant capacity compared to coconut juice and nipah juice vinegars. Following acute and sub-chronic in vivo toxicity evaluation, no toxicity and mortality were evident and there were no significant differences in the serum biochemical profiles between mice administered the vinegars versus the control group. In the sub-chronic toxicity evaluation, the highest liver antioxidant levels were found in mice fed with pineapple juice vinegar, followed by coconut juice and nipah juice vinegars. However, compared to the pineapple juice and nipah juice vinegars, the mice fed with coconut juice vinegar, exhibited a higher population of CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes in the spleen, which was associated with greater levels of serum interleukin-2 and interferon-γ cytokines.

    CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the data suggested that not all vinegar samples cause acute and sub-chronic toxicity in vivo. Moreover, the in vivo immunity and organ antioxidant levels were enhanced, to varying extents, by the phenolic acids present in the vinegars. The results obtained in this study provide appropriate guidelines for further in vivo bioactivity studies and pre-clinical assessments of vinegar consumption. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. Mohamad NE, Yeap SK, Beh BK, Ky H, Lim KL, Ho WY, et al.
    BMC Complement Altern Med, 2018 Jun 25;18(1):195.
    PMID: 29940935 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-018-2199-4
    BACKGROUND: Coconut water has been commonly consumed as a beverage for its multiple health benefits while vinegar has been used as common seasoning and a traditional Chinese medicine. The present study investigates the potential of coconut water vinegar in promoting recovery on acetaminophen induced liver damage.

    METHODS: Mice were injected with 250 mg/kg body weight acetaminophen for 7 days and were treated with distilled water (untreated), Silybin (positive control) and coconut water vinegar (0.08 mL/kg and 2 mL/kg body weight). Level of oxidation stress and inflammation among treated and untreated mice were compared.

    RESULTS: Untreated mice oral administrated with acetaminophen were observed with elevation of serum liver profiles, liver histological changes, high level of cytochrome P450 2E1, reduced level of liver antioxidant and increased level of inflammatory related markers indicating liver damage. On the other hand, acetaminophen challenged mice treated with 14 days of coconut water vinegar were recorded with reduction of serum liver profiles, improved liver histology, restored liver antioxidant, reduction of liver inflammation and decreased level of liver cytochrome P450 2E1 in dosage dependent level.

    CONCLUSION: Coconut water vinegar has helped to attenuate acetaminophen-induced liver damage by restoring antioxidant activity and suppression of inflammation.

  9. Yusof HM, Ali NM, Yeap SK, Ho WY, Beh BK, Koh SP, et al.
    BMC Complement Altern Med, 2019 Dec 19;19(1):373.
    PMID: 31856816 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2791-2
    BACKGROUND: Tempeh is a widely known fermented soybean that contains elevated level of bioactive contents. Our previous study has shown that anaerobic fermented Nutrient Enriched Soybean Tempeh (NESTE) with increase amino acid and antioxidant levels possessed better hepatoprotective effect than raw soybean.

    METHODS: In this study, the anti-inflammatory effect of the NESTE aqueous extract and raw soybean aqueous extract (SBE) were evaluated by quantifying the inhibition of IL-1β, TNF-α and nitric oxide (NO) secretion in LPS treated RAW 264.7 cell in vitro. On the other hand, in vivo oral acute toxicity effect of the extract was tested on mice at the dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight. In vivo oral analgesic effect of both aqueous extracts at 200 and 1000 mg/kg body weight was evaluated by the hot plate test.

    RESULTS: In the in vitro anti-inflammatory study, 5 mg/mL NESTE was able to inhibit 25.50 ± 2.20%, 35.88 ± 3.20% and 28.50 ± 3.50% of NO, IL-1β and TNF-α production in LPS treated RAW 264.7 cells without inducing cytotoxic effect on the cells. However, this effect was lower than 4 μg/mL of curcumin, which inhibited NO, IL-1β and TNF-α production by 89.50 ± 5.00%, 78.80 ± 6.20% and 87.30 ± 4.00%, respectively. In addition, 1.5 to 2.5-fold increase of latency period up to 120 min for mice in the hot plate test was achieved by 1000 mg/kg NESTE. The analgesic effect of NESTE was better than 400 mg/kg of acetyl salicylic acid, which only increased ~ 1.7-fold of latency period up to 90 min. Moreover, NESTE did not show acute toxicity (no LD50) up to 5000 mg/kg body weight.

    CONCLUSION: NESTE is a nutritious food ingredient with potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.

  10. Ho WY, Yeap S, Liang WS, Beh BK, Mohamad N, Alitheen NB
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2015 Jan;28(1):15-22.
    PMID: 25553678
    Vernonia amygdalina is a strong natural antioxidant that possessed various medicinal properties. In this study, the spray-dried water extract of V. amygdalina was evaluated for its in vitro antioxidant capacity and in vivo hepatoprotective effect against alcoholic-mediated liver damage. Total phenolic and flavonoid content of spray-dried V. amygdalina water extract were determined. Liver enzyme profiles, liver antioxidant level and nitric oxide level were evaluated in alcohol-induced liver injured mice or co-supplement with spray-dried V. amydalina. Water extract of spray-dried V. amygalina that contained phenolic content of 24.8±1.5 mg/g gallic acid equivalent and total flavonoid content of 25.7±1.3 mg/g catechin equivalent was able to inhibit 50% of xanthine and tyrosinase oxidation at 170 μg/ml and 2 mg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, extracts at both 10 and 50 mg/kg body weight were able to reduce the levels of Alanine transaminase (ALT), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Aspartate transaminase (AST), triglyceride and total bilirubin content inthe alcohol-mediated liver injury in mice. Furthermore, it also helped to increase levels of Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and reduce the levels of Nitric oxide (NO) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) in the liver of the treated mice. These resultssuggestedthat water extract of spray-dried V. amygdalina exhibited liver protective effect, which could be contributed by its antioxidant properties.
  11. Mohamad NE, Yeap SK, Ky H, Ho WY, Boo SY, Chua J, et al.
    Food Nutr Res, 2017;61(1):1368322.
    PMID: 29056887 DOI: 10.1080/16546628.2017.1368322
    Obesity has become a serious health problem worldwide. Various types of healthy food, including vinegar, have been proposed to manage obesity. However, different types of vinegar may have different bioactivities. This study was performed to evaluate the anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory effects of coconut water vinegar on high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. Changes in the gut microbiota of the mice were also evaluated. To induce obesity, C57/BL mice were continuously fed an HFD for 33 weeks. Coconut water vinegar (0.08 and 2 ml/kg body weight) was fed to the obese mice from early in week 24 to the end of week 33. Changes in the body weight, fat-pad weight, serum lipid profile, expression of adipogenesis-related genes and adipokines in the fat pad, expression of inflammatory-related genes, and nitric oxide levels in the livers of the untreated and coconut water vinegar-treated mice were evaluated. Faecal samples from the untreated and coconut water vinegar-treated mice (2 ml/kg body weight) were subjected to 16S metagenomic analysis to compare their gut microbiota. The oral intake of coconut water vinegar significantly (p 
  12. Yeap SK, Omar AR, Ali AM, Ho WY, Beh BK, Alitheen NB
    PMID: 21941589 DOI: 10.1155/2012/786487
    The in vivo immunomodulatory effect of ethanolic extracts from leaves of Rhaphidophora korthalsii was determined via immune cell proliferation, T/NK cell phenotyping, and splenocyte cytotoxicity of BALB/c mice after 5 consecutive days of i.p. administration at various concentrations. Splenocyte proliferation index, cytotoxicity, peripheral blood T/NK cell population, and plasma cytokine (IL-2 and IFN-γ) in mice were assessed on day 5 and day 15. High concentration of extract (350 μg/mice/day for 5 consecutive days) was able to stimulate immune cell proliferation, peripheral blood NK cell population, IL-2, and IFN- γ cytokines, as well as splenocyte cytotoxicity against Yac-1 cell line. Unlike rIL-2 which degraded rapidly, the stimulatory effect from the extract managed to last until day 15. These results suggested the potential of this extract as an alternative immunostimulator, and they encourage further study on guided fractionation and purification to identify the active ingredients that contribute to this in vitro and in vivo immunomodulatory activity.
  13. Chuah LO, Yeap SK, Ho WY, Beh BK, Alitheen NB
    PMID: 22924054 DOI: 10.1155/2012/197920
    Obesity is one of the pandemic chronic diseases commonly associated with health disorders such as heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes or even cancer. Among the current natural products for obesity and weight control, Garcinia or more specifically hydroxycitric acid (HCA) extracted from Garcinia has been widely used. The evaluation of the potential toxicity of weight control supplement is of the utmost importance as it requires long term continuous consumption in order to maintain its effects. Majority of reports demonstrated the efficacy of Garcinia/HCA without any toxicity found. However, a few clinical toxicity reports on weight-loss diet supplements of which some were combinations that included Garcinia/HCA as an active ingredient showed potential toxicity towards spermatogenesis. Nonetheless, it cannot be concluded that Garcinia/HCA is unsafe. Those products which have been reported to possess adverse effects are either polyherbal or multi-component in nature. To date, there is no case study or report showing the direct adverse effect of HCA. The structure, mechanism of action, long history of the use of Garcinia/HCA and comprehensive scientific evidence had shown "no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL)" at levels up to 2800 mg/day, suggesting its safety for use.
  14. Mohamad NE, Yeap SK, Ky H, Liew NWC, Beh BK, Boo SY, et al.
    PMID: 33029159 DOI: 10.1155/2020/1257962
    Obesity is a pandemic metabolic syndrome with increasing incidences every year. Among the significant factors that lead to obesity, overconsumption of high-fat food in daily intake is always the main contributor. Functional foods have shown a positive effect on disease prevention and provide health benefits, including counteracting obesity problem. Vinegar is one of the fermented functional beverages that have been consumed for many years, and different types of vinegar showed different bioactivities and efficacies. In this study, we investigated the potential effects of pineapple vinegar as an antiobesity agent on a high-fat diet- (HFD-) induced C57BL/6 obese mice. C57BL/6 mice were treated with pineapple vinegar (1 mL/kg BW and 0.08 mL/kg BW) for 12 weeks after 24 weeks of HFD incubation. Serum biochemistry profiles, antioxidant assays, qPCR, proteome profiler, and 16S metagenomic were done posttreatment. Our data showed that a high concentration of pineapple vinegar (1 mL/kg BW) treatment significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the bodyweight (∼20%), restored lipid profiles, increased the antioxidant activities, and reduced the oxidative stress. Besides, significant (p < 0.05) regulation of several adipokines and inflammatory-related genes was recorded. Through the regulation of gut microbiota, we found a higher abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, a microbiota reported to be associated with obesity in the high concentration of pineapple vinegar treatment. Collectively, these data established the mechanism of pineapple vinegar as antiobesity in mice and revealed the potential of pineapple vinegar as a functional food for obesity.
  15. Mohd Yusof H, Ali NM, Yeap SK, Ho WY, Beh BK, Koh SP, et al.
    PMID: 24058369 DOI: 10.1155/2013/274274
    Recently, soybean tempeh has received great attention due to many advantages such as higher nutritional value, lower production cost, and shorter fermentation time. In this study, the in vivo hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of nutrient enriched soybean tempeh (NESTE) were determined. NESTE fermentation process which involved anaerobic incubation was previously proclaimed to increase the content of amino acids and antioxidant properties remarkably. The evaluation of histological sections, serum biochemical markers (aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and cholesterol and triglycerides (TG)), liver immune response level (nitric oxide (NO)) and liver antioxidant level (superoxide dismutase (SOD), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and malondialdehyde (MDA)) was conducted in order to compare the effects of nonfermented soybean extract (SBE) and fermented soybean extract (NESTE) on alcohol-induced liver damage in mice. Results demonstrated that 1000 mg/kg of NESTE can significantly reduce the levels of AST, ALT, cholesterol, TG, MDA, and NO. On the other hand, it also raised the level of SOD and FRAP. Furthermore, the histological examination on 1000 mg/kg NESTE treatment group showed that this extract was capable of recovering the damaged hepatocytes to their normal structures. Thus, it can be concluded that NESTE produced through fermentation process was able to enhance hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects in vivo.
  16. Ali NM, Mohd Yusof H, Yeap SK, Ho WY, Beh BK, Long K, et al.
    PMID: 25045389 DOI: 10.1155/2014/350507
    Evaluation of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of untreated mung bean (MB), germinated mung bean (GMB), and fermented mung bean (FMB) was performed on both in vitro (inhibition of inflammatory mediator, nitric oxide(NO)) and in vivo (inhibition of ear oedema and reduction of response to pain stimulus) studies. Results showed that both GMB and FMB aqueous extract exhibited potent anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities in a dose-dependent manner. In vitro results showed that GMB and FMB were potent inflammatory mediator (NO) inhibitors at both 2.5 and 5 mg/mL. Further in vivo studies showed that GMB and FMB aqueous extract at 1000 mg/kg can significantly reduce ear oedema in mice caused by arachidonic acid. Besides, both 200 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg concentrations of GMB and FMB were found to exhibit potent antinociceptive effects towards hotplate induced pain. With these, it can be concluded that GMB and FMB aqueous extract exhibited potential anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects.
  17. Khoramnia A, Ebrahimpour A, Beh BK, Lai OM
    J Biomed Biotechnol, 2011;2011:702179.
    PMID: 21960739 DOI: 10.1155/2011/702179
    The lipase production ability of a newly isolated Acinetobacter sp. in submerged (SmF) and solid-state (SSF) fermentations was evaluated. The results demonstrated this strain as one of the rare bacterium, which is able to grow and produce lipase in SSF even more than SmF. Coconut oil cake as a cheap agroindustrial residue was employed as the solid substrate. The lipase production was optimized in both media using artificial neural network. Multilayer normal and full feed forward backpropagation networks were selected to build predictive models to optimize the culture parameters for lipase production in SmF and SSF systems, respectively. The produced models for both systems showed high predictive accuracy where the obtained conditions were close together. The produced enzyme was characterized as a thermotolerant lipase, although the organism was mesophile. The optimum temperature for the enzyme activity was 45°C where 63% of its activity remained at 70°C after 2 h. This lipase remained active after 24 h in a broad range of pH (6-11). The lipase demonstrated strong solvent and detergent tolerance potentials. Therefore, this inexpensive lipase production for such a potent and industrially valuable lipase is promising and of considerable commercial interest for biotechnological applications.
  18. Yeap SK, Beh BK, Ali NM, Mohd Yusof H, Ho WY, Koh SP, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2014;2014:694842.
    PMID: 24877129 DOI: 10.1155/2014/694842
    Mung bean has been traditionally used to alleviate heat stress. This effect may be contributed by the presence of flavonoids and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). On the other hand, fermentation and germination have been practised to enhance the nutritional and antioxidant properties of certain food products. The main focus of current study was to compare the antistress effect of none-process, fermented and germinated mung bean extracts. Acute and chronic restraint stresses were observed to promote the elevation of serum biochemical markers including cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, liver enzymes, and glucose. Chronic cold restraint stress was observed to increase the adrenal gland weight, brain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) level while reducing brain antioxidant enzyme level. However, these parameters were found reverted in mice treated with diazepam, high concentration of fermented mung bean and high concentration of germinated mung bean. Moreover, enhanced level of antioxidant on the chronic stress mice was observed in fermented and germinated mung bean treated groups. In comparison between germinated and fermented mung bean, fermented mung bean always showed better antistress and antioxidant effects throughout this study.
  19. Ali NM, Yeap SK, Yusof HM, Beh BK, Ho WY, Koh SP, et al.
    J Sci Food Agric, 2016 Mar 30;96(5):1648-58.
    PMID: 26009985 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.7267
    BACKGROUND: Mung bean and soybean have been individually reported previously to have antioxidant, cytotoxic and immunomodulatory effects, while fermentation is a well-known process to enhance the bioactive compounds that contribute to higher antioxidant, cytotoxic and immunomodulation effects. In this study, the free amino acids profile, soluble phenolic acids content, antioxidants, cytotoxic and immunomodulatory effects of fermented and non-fermented mung bean and soybean were compared.

    RESULTS: Fermented mung bean was recorded to have the highest level of free amino acids, soluble phenolic acids (especially protocatechuic acid) and antioxidant activities among all the tested products. Both fermented mung bean and soybean possessed cytotoxicity activities against breast cancer MCF-7 cells by arresting the G0/G1 phase followed by apoptosis. Moreover, fermented mung bean and soybean also induced splenocyte proliferation and enhanced the levels of serum interleukin-2 and interferon-γ.

    CONCLUSION: Augmented amounts of free amino acids and phenolic acids content after fermentation enhanced the antioxidants, cytotoxicity and immunomodulation effects of mung bean and soybean. More specifically, fermented mung bean showed the best effects among all the tested products. This study revealed the potential of fermented mung bean and soybean as functional foods for maintenance of good health.

  20. Yeap SK, Beh BK, Ali NM, Yusof HM, Ho WY, Koh SP, et al.
    Exp Ther Med, 2015 Jan;9(1):39-42.
    PMID: 25452773
    Virgin coconut oil (VCO) has been consumed worldwide for various health-related reasons and some of its benefits have been scientifically evaluated. Medium-chain fatty acids were found to be a potential antidepressant functional food; however, this effect had not been evaluated in VCO, which is rich in polyphenols and medium-chain fatty acids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antistress and antioxidant effects of VCO in vivo, using mice with stress-induced injury. The antistress effect of VCO (administered per os, at a dose of 10 ml/kg body weight) was evaluated using the forced swim test and chronic cold restraint stress models. VCO was able to reduce immobility time and restore oxidative stress in mice post-swim test. Furthermore, mice treated with VCO were found to exhibit higher levels of brain antioxidants, lower levels of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine and reduced weight of the adrenal glands. Consequently, the serum cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose and corticosterone levels were also lower in VCO-treated mice. These results suggest the potential value of VCO as an antistress functional oil.
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