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Coconut agribusiness development plays an important role in an effort to increase productivity as a raw material for processed products from coconut. Indonesia is one of the world's largest coconut plantation. Unfortunately, Indonesia's exports are in the form of ordinary coconut oil, while Philippines has begun to reach the world with the Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). However, there is still a lack of diversification that can be done by coconut farmers made its little progress. In fact, the price of VCO which tripled from coconut oil used to make the oil can be potential to be developed in Indonesia The purpose of this research was to examine the cream ratio with inducement oil and length of fermentation on VCO quality. The research used a factorial randomized complete design (CRD) of 3 × 3 consisting of two factors, namely the ratio of coconut cream and inducement oil (A) and length of fermentation (B). The ratio of coconut cream and inducement oil (A) consisted of three levels, namely: A1 = 2 : 1, A2 = 3 : 1, and A3 = 4 : 1. Length of fermentation factors (B) consisted of three levels, namely: B1 = 8 hours, B2 = 10 hours, and B3 = 12 hours. The results showed that the treatment of cream ratio with inducement oil had a very significant effect on the yield, organoleptic aroma, and color. The length of fermentation had a very significant effect on yield, organoleptic aroma and color. The interaction between the two factors had a very significant effect on all parameters (water content, peroxide number, acid number, and iodine number) except yield and organoleptic (aroma and color) which had no effect. The best VCO quality was obtained by ratio of cream with inducement oil 2 : 1 and 8 hours length of fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coconut oil is a major source of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which are health-promoting plant compounds. The MCFAs of coconut oil have been reported to exhibit various health properties such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and cardiovascular benefits brought about by the multi-functionality of these complex MCFAs. Six (6) candidate genes involved in oil and MCFA synthesis were identified in the general seed oil biosynthetic pathway. The candidate gene sequences were mined using local BLAST in the coconut genome assembly constructed based on 15× PacBio® and 50× Illumina® MiSeq sequence reads of CATD coconut variety. Scaffolds harboring the candidate genes were mapped based on sequence homology alignment. Gene structures of all genes were elucidated using evidence-based and ab initio prediction algorithms. The coding DNA sequences of KasII and KasIII in coconut were characterized. These MCFA genes have not been characterized nor reported in coconut. Gene-specific PCR primers were designed targeting the coding regions of each gene. PCR conditions were optimized to mine natural allele variants across 48 established coconut varieties in the Philippines through EcoTILLING (Ecotype Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes).Asingle nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on the lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase genes (LPAAT) was detected in the 'West African Tall'(WAT) and 'Aguinaldo Tall' (AGDT) varieties. The partial LPAAT gene sequences of WAT and AGDT were cloned and sequenced in order to characterize the SNP. Based on the identified SNPs, robust DNA markers may be developed for high-throughput screening and selection of favorable alleles in genomics-assisted coconut breeding for outstanding high-quality oil producing varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for coconut oil (CNO) continues to rise in the global market. This puts pressure for coconut-producing countries such as the Philippines to increase CNO and copra production. Baybay Tall (BAYT) is known to have the highest copra yield among the tall coconut varieties in the Philippines. However, traditional breeding techniques that rely on the use of morphological markers are very limited, laborious, and time-consuming. In order to improve breeding strategies for increased copra production, differential gene expression analysis was performed on coconut shell and kernel of high-yielding and low-yielding palms. High-quality RNA was isolated from the endosperm (ES or kernel) and endocarp (EC or shell) of nut tissues followed by transcriptome sequencing using Illumina HiSeq2000. De novo transcriptome assembly was performed using Trinity. Read abundance was estimated using Corset and differentially expressed genes were identified using edgeR. In total, 1,945 genes were found to be differentially expressed (FDR < 0.05) from the nut tissues. Annotation of the transcripts revealed that only 82 of the differentially expressed genes have significant annotation. Potential gene-targeted markers (GTMs) were designed for 64 candidate genes, which can be further validated for possible use in the markerassisted selection of high-yielding palms. Microsatellite (SSR) sequences were identified in 19,147 unigenes in the EC and 17,394 in the ES. However, only two SSRs were found among differentially expressed genes in the EC and only one in the ES. Functional analysis revealed that high nut yield could arise from concerted actions of several transcription activators and regulatory proteins leading to increased cell division, secondary cell wall formation, enhanced energy metabolism, and activated stress response. Taken together, these processes contribute to increased kernel volume and thus increase in copra yield. Identified genes in this study can be used as potential targets in improving productivity in the Philippine coconut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing necessity for energy storage due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources. A good alternative for energy storage is Phase Change Materials (PCM), which can store large amounts of energy at relatively small volumes at a constant temperature. In the thermal packaging industry, PCM are utilized as Thermal Energy Storage (TES) for the purpose of maintaining the temperature of a temperature-sensitive product within the desired temperature range during transportation. A possible source of PCM is lauric acid, a saturated free fatty acid which may be obtained from organic materials. Coconut oil, the most common cooking oil used in the Philippines, contains 50% lauric acid. Hence, a plant design case study was prepared to study the viability of creating thermal energy storage using phase change material derived from waste cooking oil. As a basis for calculations and the case study, data were obtained from literature and primary sources, and the Municipality of Los Banos in the Province of Laguna was used. The designed plant can produce up to 6,200 cubic meters of PCM or 477, 000 packs per year from four manufacturing lines. Each pack may be sold at PHP 1,500 and makes approximately PHP 700 million sales annually. To initiate the plant, the basic requirements include equipment, land and building cost, raw materials, office equipment, and several operating expenses. Return-of-investments and payback period were shown to be 25% and 2 years, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kopyor coconut (KC) 1 1 KC: Kopyor coconut (Cocos nucifera var. Kopyor) is widely cultivated in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Known as 'Macapuno' coconut in Philipines, the characteristic of this wildtype coconut (WC) 2 2 WC: Wildtype coconut mutant variant can be differentiated by its scrambled endosperm. KC oil contains lauric acid and α-tocopherol, which exhibit estrogenic activity and increase skin collagen concentration. Thus, the development of KC oil as a topical cosmetical product is promising. We investigated the estrogenic potential of KC oil from its endosperm and defined the optimum formula for producing a lotion as a pilot for topical cosmetic products. A study of the physical properties of lotion produced from the optimum formula was then performed. The estrogenic activity of KC was determined by MCF-7 cell viability assay using 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)− 2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) • Oil from 'kopyor' ('macapuno') coconut can be obtained by centrifugation. • 'Kopyor' coconut oil demonstrates estrogenic activity. • Lotion comprised of 'kopyor' coconut oil shows good physical characteristics. • 'Kopyor' coconut oil promising for topical cosmetic products application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coconut oil is a common edible oil in many countries, and there is mixed evidence for its effects on lipid profiles and cardiovascular disease risk. Here we examine the association between coconut oil consumption and lipid profiles in a cohort of 1,839 Filipino women (age 35-69 years) participating in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey, a community based study in Metropolitan Cebu. Coconut oil intake was estimated using the mean of two 24-hour dietary recalls (9.5±8.9 grams). Lipid profiles were measured in morning plasma samples collected after an overnight fast. Linear regression models were used to estimate the association between coconut oil intake and each plasma lipid outcome after adjusting for total energy intake, age, body mass index (BMI), number of pregnancies, education, menopausal status, household assets and urban residency. Dietary coconut oil intake was positively associated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol especially among pre-menopausal women, suggesting that coconut oil intake is associated with beneficial lipid profiles. Coconut oil consumption was not significantly associated with low density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglyceride values. The relationship of coconut oil to cholesterol profiles needs further study in populations in which coconut oil consumption is common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of hot oil treatment on physical and mechanical properties of three species of Philippine bamboo, viz. Bambusa blumeana, B. vulgaris and Dendrocalamus asper were investigated after exposure to virgin coconut oil at 160 to 200 °C for 30 to 120 min. The results showed improvement in water absorption and thickness swelling properties for all species tested. However, there was a reduction in strength properties as indicated by modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture and toughness. The improvement in dimensional stability and reduction in strength properties were correlated with temperature but duration seemed to have little or no effect on physical or mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determines whether legal and institutional changes in the Philippines during the 1970s allowed the country to be a dominant firm in the coconut oil export market. Description of the coconut oil export market; Determination of the magnitude of the wedge between price and marginal cost.