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Phytochemical Screening Of Coconut Water Extract
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Taxonomy
– Cellular organisms Eukaryote-Viridiplantae
– Streptophyta –Streptophyta-Euphyllophyta
– Spermatophyte-Tracheophyta-liliopsida
– Commelinids – Arecales-Arecaceae
– Arecoideae – Cocoseae- Attaleinae-cocos-Cocos nucifera
CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom Plantae
Division Magnoliophyta
Class Liliopsida
Family Arecaceae
Genus Cocos
Species C. nucifera
CULTIVATION
V
palms are grown in more than 90 countries of the world, with a total
production of 62 millions tones per years. Most of the world production
is in tropical Asia. Coconut trees are very hard to establish in dry
climates, and cannot grow there without frequent irrigation, in drought
conditions, the new leaves do not open well, and older leaves may become
desiccated, fruits also tends to be shed.
Technical Requirement of Coconut Cultivation
Agro-climate requirements
Coconut
is essentially a tropic plant but has been found to grow under varying
agro climatic conditions. The mean annual temperature for optimum growth
and maximum yield is stated to be 270c with a diurnal variation of 60c
to 70c and relative humidity more than 60%. The coconut palm thrives
well up to an altitude of 600m above MSL. The coconut palm thrives well
under an evenly distributed annual rainfall ranging from 100mm to
3000mm. However, a well distributed rainfall of about 2000mm is the
ideal rainfall for proper growth and higher yield.
Soil
The
coconut palm can tolerate wide range of soil conditions. But the palm
does show certain growth preferences. A variety of factors such as
drainage, soil depth, soil fertility and layout of the land has great
influence on the growth of the palm. The major soil types that support
coconut in India are laterite, alluvialred sandy loan, coastal sandy and
reclaimed soils with a pH ranging from 5.2 to 8.0.
Selection of site
Soil
with a minimum depth of 12m and fairly good water holding capacity is
preferred for coconut cultivation. Shallow soils with underlying hard
rock, low lying areas subjected to water stagnation and clayey soils
should be avoided. Proper supply of moisture either through well
distributed rainfall or irrigation and sufficient drainage are essential
for coconut.
Preparation of land
Size of the pit depends on the
soil type and water table. In laterite soils large pits of the size 1.2m
x 1.2m x 1.2 may be dug and filled up with loose soil, powered cow dung
and ash up to a depth of 60cm before planting. In loaming soils, pits
of size 1m x 1m x 1m filled with top soil to height of 50cm is
recommended, while filling the pits, two layers of coconut husk can be
arrange at the bottom of the pit with concave surface fusing upwards for
moisture conservation. After arranging each layer, BHC 10%/DP should be
sprinkled on the husk to prevent termite attack. In laterite soils,
common salt at 2kg pit may be applied, six months, prior, on the floor
of the pit to soften the hard pans.
Spacing
In general square
system of planting with a spacing of 7.5m x 7.5m is recommended for
coconut. This will accommodate 177 palms per hectare. However, spacing
of 7.5 to 10m is practiced in various coconut growing regions of the
country.
Harvesting
Coconuts are harvested at varying intervals in
a year. The frequency differs in different areas depending upon the
yield of the trees in well maintained and high yielding gardens, bunches
are produced regularly and harvesting is done once a month. Coconut
becomes mature in about 12months after the opening of the spathe. It is
the ripe coconut which is the source of major coconut products nut which
are eleven months old give fibre of good quality and can be harvested
in the tracts where green husks are required for the manufacture of coir
fibre. Economic life of the coconut palm is about 60 years.
1.3 TRADITIONAL USES OF COCONUT
The
coconut is used for roofing and side screens on traditional housing and
woven coconut leaves are used to carry or serve food. The timber is
used for housing and canoe building. While the coconut shells have been
used for centuries to carry water or store coconut oil. The fresh sap is
boiled to use as a natural sweetener or mixed with water to make a
lovely sweet drink. Coconut trunks are used for building small bridges
and huts, they are preferred for their straightness, strength, and salt
resistance. Coconut trunks are used for house construction. Coconut
timber comes from the trunk, and is increasingly being used as an
ecologically sound substitute for endangered hardwoods. It has
applications in furniture and specialized construction, as notably
demonstrated in Manila’s coconut palace. The coconut husk is used as a
potting medium to produce healthy forest tree sapling, coconuts are used
in the beauty industry in moisturizers to its chemical structures, is
readily absorbed by the skin. The coconut shell may also be ground down
and added to products for exfoliation of dead skin. Coconut is also a
source of lauric acid, which can be processed in a particular way to
produce sodium lauryl sulfate, a detergent used in showers gels and
shampoos. Half coconut shells are used in theatre foley sound effects of
a horses hoof beats. Dried half shells are used as the bodies of
musical instruments, coconut meals used as livestock feed. The dried
calyx is used as fuel in wood fired stoves. Coconut water is
traditionally used as a growth supplement in plant tissue culture/micro
propagation.
1.4 MEDICINAL USES OF COCONUT
Coconut is used to
treat a wide variety of health problems including the following
Abscesses, asthma, baldness, bronchitis, bruises, burns colds,
constipation, cough, dropsy, dysentery, earache, fever, flu, gingivitis,
gonorrhea, irregular or painful menstruation, jaundice, kidney stones,
malnutrition, nausea, rash, scabies, scurvy, skin infection, sore
throat, swelling, syphilis toothache, tuberculosis, tumors, typhoid
ulcers, upset stomach, weakness and wounds. Coconut water is known as a
tasty beverage popular mainly in tropic Island, however far not all of
us are aware of health benefits of coconut water. Generally speaking, it
contains a whole amount of supplements that are needed in order to
supplements that are needed in order to sustain life.
Potassium- it helps to lower arterial blood pressure.
Glucose- It acts as sugar needed for body energy.
Vitamin C- It shields the body for ailments like scurvy.
Vitamin B- It helps to replace worn out tissues and cells.
Hair care
Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in
healthy growth of hair providing them a shiny complexion; it is
effective in reducing the protein loss for damage and undamaged hair.
Immunity
Coconut
oil is also good for the immune system, it strengthen the immune system
as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid and
caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral
properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is
claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases
such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in
fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and
heliobacterpylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
Weight loss
Coconut
oil is very useful in benefits of honey in weight loss, it contains
short and medium chain fattyacide that helps in taking off excessive
weight it is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of
the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body
metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more
energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight.
Hence, people living in tropic coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily
as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or
overweight.
1.5 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF COCONUT
The coconut palm
provides a substantial export income for many tropical countries, as
well as food and drink for home consumption and fuel and shelter of the
exported products, copra, the dried kernel, is a major source of
vegetable oil and coconut oil, and shielded and dried kernel is widely
used in the bakery and confectionery trades as desiccated coconut. Copra
cake, left after oil extraction, is a valued animal feed, especially
for dairy cattle.
The leading coconut producer nations
are (in order) the Philippians, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand
and Malaysia, while production from nations such as Fiji, Papua New
Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu is relatively small,
the coconut trade is a major source of export revenue for these
countries, in some years, copra comprises more than 50% of Vanuatu
exports income.
The coconut industry is the highest net foreign
exchange earner of agricultural exports in the Philippines, accounting
for about 1.5% of GNP. It employs directly or indirectly, some 20
million people (about one-third of the population) and earns more than
US$510m annually. However, the industry’s ability to meet demand and
expanding may be jeopardized by:
The declining share of coconut oil in the world’s oil and fat market.
A proposed levy on vegetable oil imports to the European community and a campaign against coconut oil in US.
More stringent aflatoxin regulations imposed in the international copra market.
Erosion of the European desiccated coconut market.
Lack of a market development and expansion program; and.
Low
incomes for coconut to respond to changing patterns in world trade in
coconut products could have adverse effects on employment and revenue.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]Medicinal plants are the local heritage with global importance plants and plant based medicaments are the basis of many of the modern pharmaceuticals we use today for our various ailments. The research investigated the photochemical screening of coconut water. Coconut water was obtained fresh from coconut fruit and photochemical analysis was carried out according to standard procedures. The preliminary phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, steroids and t ... Continue reading---
