Sprouting Coconut: A Breakthrough in Extracting and Maximizing Fatty Acids from Coconut

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Finding the best way to extract and maximize the important nutrients in coconut could be a breakthrough. Coconuts are known for its high fatty acid content, yet these fatty acids are concentrated through tedious processes in making Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). This study aims to assess the fatty acids from the sprouted coconut and compare the properties of these fatty acids to VCO and coconut without sprout. This was conducted to address if, and to prove that, there is a significant difference in the amount of fatty acids in the naturally-occurring substance in sprouting coconuts, or "Kwamog" in Visayan language, compared to Virgin Coconut Oil and coconut without sprout.

METHODS

Sproutedcoconuts were collected from Barobo, Surigao del Sur, Philippines. These were selected based on the length of the sprout for the two treatments used in the study such as: Treatment 1-six (6) inches and Treatment 2-twelve (12) inches. Six and twelve inches sprouted coconut have little water and no water inside the kernels, respectively. Four hundred (400) grams of meat from sprouted coconut was collected from each treatment then placed in a glass container and refrigerated at 4oC. The analyses of fatty acids were conducted by the Food Development Centre of the NFA using the method stated in the book of "AOAC INTERNATIONAL 20TH Edition, 2016, Vol. 1 & 2. Determination of significant difference was done through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

RESULTS

Results showed higher contents of fatty acids extracted from sprouted coconut compared to VCO and coconut without sprout. The contents of fatty acids such as Lauric, Capric, Caprylic, Myristic, Palmitic, saturated fatty acids and medium-chain fatty acids from sprouted coconut significantly differed from the fatty acid contents in VCO and coconut without sprout.

DISCUSSIONS

This shows the sprouting of coconut enhances the amount of fatty acids and that it could be considered a method of extracting fatty acids from coconut. The increased contents of fatty acids extracted from sprouting coconut could be a breakthrough in the extraction of these important compounds from coconut for various medicinal applications. Thus, these should be maximized during its extraction process and that sprouting of coconut would be the answer since coconut oil is one of the few foods that can be classified as a "superfood". Its unique combination of fatty acids can have positive effects on your health. These include fat loss, better brain function, etc. (Gunnars, 2018).