Red palm oil in experimental atherosclerosis

Different palm oil preparations reduce plasma cholesterol concentrations and aortic cholesterol accumulation compared to coconut oil in hypercholesterolemic hamsters

“…The free/ esterified cholesterol ratio in the aortas of the RPO-fed rabbits was 50% higher than those fed RBD-PO, 25% higher than those fed the reconstituted RBD-PO and 160% higher than those fed coconut oil. Thus, consistent with the rabbit data [26], RPO is less atherogenic than either RBD palm oil or reconstituted palm oil. Other work has shown that the substitution of palm olein oil for sunflower oil or lard significantly reduced the development of early atherosclerotic lesions in vervets [49].…”

“…Kritchevsky et al [25] have shown this to be the case in studies of experimental atherosclerosis in rabbits. To further investigate the role that the carotenoids and tocopherols of RPO may play in its comparative protective action, Kritchevsky et al [26] have compared atherogenicity in cholesterol-fed (0.1%) rabbits of RPO, RBD-PO and RBD-PO to which the antioxidant components of RPO have been added (reconstituted RPO). RBD-PO was shown to be 58% more atherogenic than RPO and 13% more atherogenic than the reconstituted RBO.…”

On the future of mass‐spectrometry‐based lipidomics

“…Nutritional aspects influence the development of atherosclerosis, but the atherogenicity of a diet can even depend on its isobaric lipid composition. Lard and tallow both contain approximately the same amount of palmitic acid (C16:0), but results suggest that the amount of palmitic acid at the sn ‐2 position of triglycerides can influence their atherogenicity .…”

Vitamin E and Beta Carotene Composition in Four Different Vegetable Oils

“…Van Rooyen et al (2008) suggested that RPO, as natural carotenoid rich oil, may protect the heart against an episode of oxidative stress in the rat and another study found that the treatment with beta carotene and vitamin E can significantly reduce lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes membranes (Mahjoub et al, 2007). Kritchevsky et al (2002) suggest that vitamin E and/or carotenoids may be protective against coronary heart disease and lung cancer.…”