REVIEW article
Front. Med.
Sec. Translational Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1573925
Recent Advances in Crocodilian Oil Research: Bioactive Components and Potential Therapeutic Applications
Provisionally accepted
Yuxi Huang1
Xinyue Zheng1Xingchen Ming1Qiqi Jiao1Weihao Xiao1Qian Wu1
Linyang Zheng2Yunfu Zeng2
Shaowen Cheng2Rong Wang2
Jian Yang2*Yangyang Bian2*
Jiangling Yao2*- 1Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
- 2The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
The economic value of crocodilian farming has risen substantially in recent years, drawing increasing attention to crocodilian oil as a traditional natural remedy rich in diverse bioactive constituents. Despite its therapeutic potential, crocodilian fat remains underutilised, and its nutritional and medicinal properties have not been widely recognised. This review provides a bibliometric analysis of past research trends and highlights current developments related to crocodilian oil. Recent advances in the characterisation of its physicochemical properties and health-related applications are summarised. The primary biological activities of this oil are attributed to its high unsaturated fatty acid and stearic acid contents. Emerging evidence supports its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and scar-reducing effects mediated through key signalling pathways, including p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, transforming growth factor-β1/Smad3, and AMP-activated protein kinase. Reported benefits include improvements in skin conditions and the modulation of energy metabolism. Potential applications encompass adjunctive treatment for Candida albicans infections, topical anti-inflammatory agents, moisturisers, and permeability enhancers in cosmetic formulations, and dietary oil substitutes for managing hypertriglyceridaemia and metabolic disorders affecting the liver and brain. Challenges and future research directions in this field are also discussed.
Keywords: crocodilian oil, anti-inflammatory, Skin condition, Energy Metabolism, antimicrobial, Scar reduction
Received: 20 Mar 2025; Accepted: 03 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang, Zheng, Ming, Jiao, Xiao, Wu, Zheng, Zeng, Cheng, Wang, Yang, Bian and Yao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jian Yang, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
Yangyang Bian, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
Jiangling Yao, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.