Replacing Saturated Fat with PUFA-Rich (Sunflower Oil) or MUFA-Rich (Rapeseed, Olive and High-Oleic Sunflower Oil) Fats Resulted in Comparable Hypocholesterolemic Effects in Cholesterol-Fed Hamsters

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)-rich dietary fats do not have the same plasma cholesterol-lowering effects whereby rapeseed oil was more effective than olive oil. This phenomenon could be explicable by the content of other fatty acids or plant sterols. To further evaluate the effects of different MUFA-rich oils (18:1-rich sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, olive oil) in comparison to polyunsaturated (PUFA)-rich oils (18:2-rich sunflower oil) and saturated fat (palm stearin) on cholesterol and bile acid metabolism, male Syrian golden hamsters were fed semipurified diets containing 5% fat and 0.2% cholesterol for 5 weeks. To test whether oil refining would have an impact on the cholesterol-lowering potential, unrefined and refined varieties of rapeseed and olive oil were included. After 5 weeks, plasma total cholesterol (TC) was highest with palm stearin (10.0 ± 2.6 mmol/l) while the MUFA- or PUFA-rich fats significantly lowered TC. The lowest TC concentrations were found with refined rapeseed, cold pressed rapeseed and 18:2-rich sunflower oil (6.7 ± 1.2; 7.1 ± 0.7 and 7.1 ± 0.7 mmol/l, respectively), whereas TC was 10–15% higher (not significant) with 18:1-rich sunflower, virgin and refined olive oil. Liver cholesterol concentrations were lowest in hamsters fed palm stearin or 18:2-rich sunflower oil while MUFA-rich fats increased hepatic cholesteryl ester accumulation, especially of cholesteryl oleate. There were no significant differences in the fecal neutral sterol and bile acid excretion. These data demonstrate that MUFA-rich dietary fats, e.g. rapeseed, olive and 18:1-rich sunflower oil, are comparable in their hypocholesterolemic potential and cause similar effects on plasma cholesterol as 18:2-rich sunflower oil in hamsters when the dietary cholesterol intake is moderate.

Nutritional Intervention Study with Argan Oil in Man: Effects on Lipids and Apolipoproteins

“…mortality risk as well [2,[4][5][6] . A second mechanism of action is assigned to the content in sterols of vegetable oils [19] .…”

“…As far as food lipids are concerned, the infl uence of the ingested quantities was often highlighted [3] . Examples through trials based on animal models have strengthen the concept that the decrease in food lipid intake is associated with a reduction of the blood cholesterol level as well as with a decrease of the risk of CVD Properties of Argan Oil Ann Nutr Metab 2005;49:196-201 197 [2,[4][5][6] . It is known that saturated fatty acid consumption increases the risk of coronary artery diseases, while unsaturated fatty acid consumption reduces this risk [6][7][8] .…”

Use of palm oil for frying in comparison with other high‐stability oils

“…Monounsaturated oleic acid is able to lower LDL, while increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL), reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases [23,24]. A strong disadvantage of this type of oil for the use as frying medium is that polyunsaturated fatty acids like linoleic or linolenic acid are very susceptible to oxidation.…”

Fatty Acids and Emotional Behavior

“…Differences can be found with regard to undesirable effects. With regard to cholesterolemia, no differences were found between diets rich in MUFA and PUFA, but a SFA-rich diet produced the highest cholesterol concentrations (Trautwein et al, 1999). Decades ago, fatty acids were perceived as precursors for the biosynthesis of other substances (e.g., those related to inflammatory processes) and other fatty acids (Friesen & Innis, 2006) that are components of the cell membrane (Carrié et al, 2000) may participate in many functional processes (Kidd, 2007).…”