Background: It is a common practice to heat cooking oil and reuse it in order to cut
expenses. The use of repeatedly heated cooking oil predisposes to various cardiovascular diseases.
Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is reported to possess antioxidant action.
Aim: The study aimed to determine the effect of heating of VCO on the blood pressure (BP) and
inflammatory bio-markers.
Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups and were fed with the following
diet for 24 weeks: normal rat chow (control); chow +fresh VCO (FVCO); chow + VCO
heated once (1HVCO); chow +VCO heated five times (5HVCO) and chow + VCO heated ten
times (10HVCO). BP was measured at baseline and four weekly for 24 weeks. Blood was collected
at baseline and at the end of study to measure plasma TXB2, PGI2, VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and LDH
enzyme activity.
Results: BP increased significantly in the 5HVCO and 10HVCO groups compared to the control
and FVCO groups. The 5HVCO and 10HVCO diet caused a significant increase in the plasma