Hypocholesterimic effects of cold and hot extracted virgin coconut oil (VCO) in comparison to commercial coconut oil: Evidence from a male wistar albino rat model

The hypolipidemic effect of cold extracted virgin coconut oil (CEVCO) and hot extracted virgin coconut oil (HEVCO) compared to commercially available coconut oil (CCO) was studied using male wistar rats. Groups were designated as control, hypercholesterimic control (HC Control), HC+10% (CEVCO), HC+15% (CEVCO), HC+10% (HEVCO), HC+15% (HEVCO) and HC+15% (CCO). Control rats were fed a basal diet while other groups were initially fed a hypercholesterimic diet (2% cholesterol and 0.25% bile salts) for 15 days, then fed with CEVCO or HEVCO (both at 10% and 15% levels), and commercial coconut oil (15%) for 30 days. Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly (p