Coconut water (Cocos nucifera L.) is regarded as the most valuable refreshing beverages that is excellent for electrolytes replenishment and is packed with variety of health benefits. Coconut fruit has high nutritional, therapeutic and commercial value and is recently being worked as a process of hydrating the cells. The high medium of potassium ion is studied as a possible mechanism to stop the enzyme Na / K-ATPase in the membrane of HbS, thus enabling potassium ion as an important higher ions moving out of the cell and sodium, water and chloride coming in to account for the water intake or sickling reversal process. Coconut water activate a resistance to osmotic pressure on the red cell membrane, thus decreasing the level of destruction of the cells. Cells with rise in red cell polymerization concentration are popular features of sickle cell disease and this is as a result of lack of the electrolytes-potassium, sodium and chloride from the red cell. The polymerization is as an outcome of dehydration, pressure and low oxygen tension which causes a shift in the balance of potassium, sodium, chloride and water and this leads to polymerization of the haemoglobin causing the crises of the sickle cell disease. The antisickling effectiveness of coconut (Cocos nucifera) water in sickle cell anaemia is reviewed to ascertain the ability of the minerals present in coconut water to stop sickle cell haemoglobin polymerization mechanism. Also reviewed are the minerals such as magnesium, zinc, arginine, potassium, chloride, iron and the antioxidant vitamins which are found to be potent inhibitors of sickle cell haemoglobin polymerization.
Keywords : Sickle Cell Disease, Cocos nucifera water, Coconut, erythrocytes, anaemia.