Lauric acid, a saturated medium-chain fatty acid with a 12-carbon backbone, is naturally found in various plant and animal fats and oils, which is a major component of palm kernel oil and coconut oil.
In vitro: Previous study showed that lauric acid could induce apoptosis in both Caco-2 and IEC-6 cells when compared to butyrate. Moreover, lauric acid reduced GSH availability and generated ROS in Caco-2 cells. Mechanistic study indicated that lauric acid reduced Caco-2 and IEC-6 cells in G0/G1and arrested cells in the S and G2/M phases. In addition, it was found that butyrate protected IEC-6 cells from ROS-induced damage, while lauric acid induced higher levels of ROS when compared with butyrate [1].
In vivo: Mouse in vivo study found that both epicutaneous application and intradermal injection of lauric acid could decrease the number of P. acnes colonized in mouse ears effectively, thus relieving P. acnes-induced granulomatous inflammation and ear swelling [2].
Clinical trial: Previous clinical study showed that lauric acid ingestion did not induce nausea or bloating. There was no effect of lauric acid on energy intake at breakfast, energy intake at lunch was reduced significantly after ingestion of lauric acid. In addition, it was observed that the total energy intake (breakfast+lunch+lauric acid dose) was less following ingestion of 6 g of lauric acid compared with control [3].
References:
[1] Fauser JK,Matthews GM,Cummins AG,Howarth GS. Induction of apoptosis by the medium-chain length fatty acid lauric acid in colon cancer cells due to induction of oxidative stress. Chemotherapy.2013;59(3):214-24.
[2] Nakatsuji T,Kao MC,Fang JY,Zouboulis CC,Zhang L,Gallo RL,Huang CM. Antimicrobial property of lauric acid against Propionibacterium acnes: its therapeutic potential for inflammatory acne vulgaris. J Invest Dermatol.2009 Oct;129(10):2480-8.
[3] Kate L. Feltrin et al. Acute oral administration of lauric acid reduces energy intake in healthy males. e-SPEN Journal. 2014 April; 9 (2): e69–e75