Pearl Joyce Abucion, Paulene Japitana, Karla Danielle Peralta, (February 2008)
Philippine Science High School Western Visayas Campus – Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PSHS WVC), Brgy. Bito-on, Jaro, Iloilo City 5000, Philippines
ABSTRACT
High endurance is needed to keep up with strenuous jobs and improve performance in sports. Thus, there is a market demand for endurance-enhancing products. Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is advertised to be endurance-enhancing because it contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) . This claim is supported by some studies. However there is also a report that intake of MCT did not improve endurance. Furthermore, VCO also contains linolenic acid, which has been found to decrease endurance in rats. So the issue is VCO really endurance-enhancing? the purpose of this study is to investigate this controversy. This study aimed to determine the effect of VCO on the endurance of white mice through swimming endurance test. One group if mice was given a supplementary diet of VCO for one week while another group was given mineral water. The two groups were subjected to a swimming test before and after the treatments. The mean swim times before and after the treatment were 3.9527± 2.0734 and 1.7949 ± 0.9299 minutes respectively for the mice receiving VCO. For the mice receiving water the mean swim times before and after the treatment were 2.5253 ± 1.5849 and 3.4216 ± 3.10341 minutes respectively. Dependent t-test (o = 0.05) showed no significant difference in the mean swim times before and after treatment in mice receiving water. For the mice reviewing VCO, dependent t-test (o = 0.05) showed a significant difference in the mean swim times before and after the treatment. Therefore, VCO decreases the swimming endurance of mice.