Monserrat and colleagues (1995) showed that a diet rich in coconut oil could protect animals against the renal necrosis and renal failure produced by a diet deficient in choline (a methyl donor group). The animals had less or no mortality and increased survival time as well as decreased incidence or severity of the renal lesions when 20% coconut oil was added to the deficient diet. A mixture of hydrogenated vegetable oil and corn oil did not show the same benefits.

The immune system is complex and has many feedback mechanism to protect it, but the wrong fat and oils can compromise these important mechanisms. The data from the several studies show the helpful effects of coconut fat. Additionally, there are anecdotal reports that consumption of coconut is beneficial for individuals with the chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome known as CFIDS.

XII. U.S. PATENTS FOR MEDICAL USES OF LAURIC OILS, MEDIUM-CHAIN FATTY ACIDS, AND THEIR DERIVATIVES SUCH AS MONOLAURIN

A number of patents have been granted in the United States for medical uses of lauric oils, lauric acid, and monolaurin. Although one earlier patent was granted to Professor Kabara more than three decades ago, the rest of these patents have been granted within the past decade.

In 1989 a patent was issued to the New England Deaconess Hospital (Bistrian et al 1989) for the invention titled "Kernel Oils and Disease Treatment." This treatment required lauric acid as the primary fatty acid source with lauric oils constituting up to 80% of the diet "using naturally occurring kernel oils."

In 1991 and 1995, two patents were issued to the group of researchers whose work has been reviewed above. The first invention (Isaacs et al 1991) was directed to antiviral and antibacterial activity of both fatty acids and monoglycerides, primarily against enveloped viruses. The claims were for "a method of killing enveloped viruses in a host human...wherein the enveloped viruses are AIDS viruses...[or]...herpes viruses...[and the]...compounds selected from the group consisting of fatty acids having from 6 to 14 carbon atoms and monoglycerides of said fatty acids...[and]...wherein the fatty acids are saturated fatty acids."

The second patent (Isaacs et al 1995) was a further extension of the earlier one. This patent also included discussion of the inactivation of envelop viruses and specifically cited monoglycerides of caproic, caprylic, capric, lauric, and myristic acid. These fatty acids make up more than 80% of coconut oil. Also included in this patent was a listing of susceptible viruses and some bacteria and protozoa.