Abstract—Heating of edible oils maybe harmful for human consumption. However, with the advent of newer oils like virgin coconut oil, it is interesting to observe the effects of the oil on inflammatory markers associated with cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed toinvestigate the influence of virgin coconut oil on the malondialdehyde level in the heart tissue of rats fed with heated palm oil. Thirty two male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-280 g) were equally assigned into four groups and fed as follows: Control-group with normal rat chow; VCO-groupwith rat chow and supplemented with 1.43ml/kg body weight of VCO; Five times heated palm oil (5HPO)-group with rat chow fortified with 15% weight/weight (w/w) of 5HPO; and 5HPO + VCO-group with rat chow fortified with 15% w/w of 5HPO plus 1.43ml/kg body weight of VCO simultaneoulsy. The treatment duration continued for fourmonths. Thereafter, the thirty two rats were sacrificed and heart tissues were harvested for biochemical analyses.There was a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in peroxide value in the VCO. The MDA level in the VCO and 5HPO+VCO groups was reduced significantly (p < 0.05) compared to the 5HPO group. In conclusion, VCO supplementation reduced the oxidative stress as depicted with decrease in peroxide value and MDA level. 

Index Terms—virgin coconut oil, peroxide, inflammatory, heated palm oil, malondialdehyde, cardiac tissue

Cite: Kogilavani Subermaniam, Qodriyah Hj Md Saad, Srijit Das, and Faizah Othman, "Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) Decreases the Level of Malondialdehyde (MDA) in the Cardiac Tissue of Experimental Sprague-Dawley Rats Fed with Heated Palm O," Journal of Medical and Bioengineering, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 102-106, June 2014. Doi: 10.12720/jomb.3.2.102-106