Effects of Cultured Coconut Oil Extract on Inflammatory Markers in Raw264.7 Cells Stimulated with Lipopolysaccharide

Introduction: Inflammation underlies the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases, and is the target of natural products with health beneficial claims. Cultured coconut oil (CCE) is a local natural product rich in medium chain fatty acids which has been marketed as health supplements. Limited studies have reported its anti-inflammatory effects and its health claims warrant further validation.
Objective: This study aimed to determine the anti-inflammatory activities of CCE using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophages.
Methods: Cytotoxicity of CCE was determined by MTT assay after exposing RAW264.7 cells with CCE for 24 hours. For inflammation assays, RAW264.7 cells was treated with CCE for two hours, followed by LPS for 24 hours. Nitric oxide (NO) level in the medium was determined with Griess assay. Intracellular inducible NO synthase (iNOS), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunoassay kits.
Results and Discussion: CCE exposure for 24 hours did not affect the cell viability up to 62.5 μg/mL. Pre-treatment with CCE (up to 15.625-62.5 μg/mL) significantly reduced the NO and intracellular iNOS level compared to vehicle-treated control (p<0.05). At 62.5 μg/mL, pre-treatment of CCE also reduced the IL-6 and TNFα levels compared to vehicle-treated control (p<0.05). The COX2, IL-1β, IL-10 levels remained unchanged with CCE pre-treatment (p>0.05).
Conclusion: CCE exerts anti-inflammatory effects on RAW24.7 cells by suppressing iNOS, IL-6 and TNFα levels. Further studies are warranted to examine the anti-inflammatory mechanism of CCE and validate its effects in animal models of inflammatory diseases.