Potensi Bioaktif Kelapa (Cocos nucifera L.) untuk Pangan Fungsional dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat: Literature Review

Abstract

Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) has strong potential as both a functional food source and an instrument of community economic empowerment, particularly in smallholder-dominated production centers such as North Sulawesi. This study synthesized scientific evidence on coconut bioactive compounds, biological activities, functional food potential, and community empowerment opportunities through a descriptive-qualitative literature review of 50 final articles (from 75 initial articles) retrieved from Google Scholar, Scopus, MDPI, and SINTA for 2016–2026. Some 80% of articles were published during 2022–2026, indicating growing scientific attention. Bioactive potential was concentrated in coconut water (44%) and meat/coconut milk and oil/VCO (24% each), with 62% of articles reporting specific compounds such as phenolics, lauric acid, monolaurin, and bioactive peptides. Antioxidant activity was most dominant, while antihypertensive activity had the strongest translational evidence, supported by human studies; antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer potentials remained preclinical. Although 80% of articles presented product applications, only 14% integrated community empowerment, dominated by VCO training without economic-impact data, highlighting the need for a whole coconut valorization approach combining standardization, clinical validation, and economic-impact evaluation.