Akinnuga AM ¹, Okafor AI², Bamidele O³, Adeyemi WJ⁴, Amaku EE¹, Odu OP¹, Ateb RU¹

¹Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Cross River University of Technology, Okuku Campus, Yala, Cross River State, Nigeria,²Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Cross River University of Technology, Okuku Campus, Yala, Cross River State, Nigeria,3Department of Physiology, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria,4Department of Physiology, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

Address for correspondence: A.M. Akinnuga, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Cross River University of Technology, Okuku Campus, Yala, Cross River State, Nigeria.

Email: akinnugaakinjide@yahoo.com

Introduction: Virgin coconut oil (VCO), a saturated fat, has been reported to have anti-diabetic properties and there is dearth of information on its potency to correct abnormal haemostatic parameters associated with diabetic patients.

Objective: Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate effect of VCO consumption on abnormal haemostatic parameters in diabetic rats.

Materials and Methods A total of fifteen (15) male rats weighing 200–250g were divided into three (3) experimental groups: Normal control group (Group I) and Diabetic control group (Group II), both fed on normal rat chow for 4 weeks, and the Diabetic test group (Group III) , fed on 10% VCO diet for 4 weeks. The Group II and Group III rats were injected alloxan (150mg/kg) intraperitoneally to induce diabetes. After 72 hours of injection, the blood glucose was determined to confirm hyperglycemia. At the end of the experiment, fibrinogen concentration, prothrombin, bleeding and clotting times were determined in the animals.

Results : The results showed a significant increase in the fibrinogen concentration and prothrombin time of Group II compared to Group I and Group III. However, there was significant decrease in bleeding time of Group II when compared to that of Group I and Group III while the clotting time of Group II was significantly decrease compared to Group I.

Conclusion : Thus, VCO normalizes abnormal haemostatic conditions in diabetics.

Keywords : Virgin coconut oil (VCO), fibrinogen concentration, bleeding time, clotting time, haemostatic parameters, prothrombin time