The role of virgin coconut oil in the treatment of alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in aging population. Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is an emerging approach to improve cognition of AD patients. This double-blind placebo- controlled trial was designed to investigate the effect of VCO on memory and cognition of mild-to-moderate AD patients and to investigate the association of Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes on the outcome. Subjects were 120 Sri Lankan mild-to-moderate AD patients aged >65 years and were randomly allocated to the treatment and control groups. Treatment group was fed 30 mL/ day of VCO and control group with a same amount of canola oil for 24 weeks. Memory and cognition were assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), and executive clock drawing task (CLOX) at the baseline and at the end of the intervention. Blood samples were collected and lipid profile and HbAlC at the baseline and at the post- intervention were analyzed. APOE genotype tests were performed. There was no significant difference in changes of memory scores, lipid profile and HbAlC between the treatment and control groups. However, MMSE scores were improved among A POE-4 carriers compared to the non-carriers (2.37, p=0.021) who had VCO, whereas APOE-4 status did not influence the memory scores of patients who had canola oil. In conclusion, oral supplementation with VCO for 24 weeks did not result an improvement in MMSE and MOCA scores in patients with mild-moderate AD compared to canola oil. However, intervention with VCO improved MMSE scores in patients who had APOE-4 allele compared to those did not have it. VCO supplementation did not compromise fasting lipid profile and HbAlC.