Coconut oil can also be extracted from fresh coconut kernel by wet processing under mild temperature, called virgin coconut oil (VCO). Nowadays, VCO is becoming very valuable because of its biological properties. VCO extraction by wet processing retains most of the unsaponifiable components like polyphenols, tocopherols and phytosterols. Studies on VCO revealed that polyphenol fractions isolated from VCO reduced the oxidative susceptibility of LDL compared to polyphenols isolated from copra oil and ground nut oil. It also inhibited in vitro lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes. VCO has significant hypolipidemic, antioxidant and antithrombotic effects compared to copra oil in normal and cholesterol fed rats. VCO has dermal wound healing properties in rats, indicated by higher levels of collagen, elastin, DNA, protein and total glycosaminoglycans.
VCO maintains the normal lipid levels, regulates the lipid metabolism, reduces oxidative stress and maintains the blood coagulation factors in rats than those fed copra oil, olive oil and sunflower oil. VCO improves reverse cholesterol transport by upregulating the LXR α - ABCA 1 pathway. VCO regulates the fatty acid metabolism and decreases the VLDL - Apo B secretion in hepatocytes by modulating the PPARα pathway. It decreases fatty acid synthesis by down regulating the mRNA expressions of SREBPs in rat liver. VCO is also capable of reducing the deleterious effect induced by alcochol on lipids and lipid peroxidation compared to copra oil and ground nut oil.