nanoemulgel virgin coconut oil as a new concept for preventing striae gravidarum via modulation of tgf-β, collagen type 1, and elastin expression

Pregnancy affects all body systems. postpartum involution occurs in most systems, except for striae gravidarum (sg). sg affects 70-90% of pregnancies. besides causing itching and redness, it is permanent and has psychological impacts, reducing quality of life. virgin coconut oil (vco) contains lauric, myristic, and stearic acids, which are effective anti-inflammatory agents by enhancing tgf-β and fibroblast activation, resulting in extracellular matrix (ecm) production, including collagen and elastin in the skin. this study aimed to analyse nanoemulgel virgin coconut oil as a new concept for the prevention of striae gravidarum via the expression of tgf-β, collagen type i, and elastin. this experimental study used a post-test-only control group design involving 35 mice. the treatment group received 1 ml vco nanoemulgel twice a day during pregnancy. on the second day postpartum, immunohistochemical examination was conducted using monoclonal antibodies. data were analysed using kruskal-wallis and anova tests, with post-hoc testing using mann-whitney and tukey hsd. there was a highly significant difference in tgf-β expression in all groups, with the highest mean expression in p3 (p<0.001). a significant difference in collagen type i expression was observed in all groups, with the highest mean in p1 (p<0.05). a significant difference in elastin expression was also found among groups, with the highest mean in p3 (p<0.05). vco nanoemulgel increases tgf-β and collagen type i expression, with the optimal dose being 200 µg/ml, while the best dose for elastin expression is 100 µg/ml.