Synergism between the effects of dietary cholesterol and coconut oil on plasma, liver and lipoprotein composition of neonatal chick

Influencia del ayuno en el efecto del aceite de coco sobre la composición del plasma y de las lipoproteínas de pollo

“…More studies are necessary to obtain conclusive information on the role of different lipoprotein fractions in the alterations of lipoprotein profile under different nutritional conditions, but the influence of postprandial and food-deprivation conditions on lipoprotein composition and/or metabolism in addition to the different effects of coconut oil feeding in neonatal and young chicks suggests an important role of LDL in avian atherogenesis in young animals, similar to that previously proposed for VLDL in neonatal chicks (4,5).…”

“…Our previous results showed that dietary coconut oil decreased the fluidity of LDL in experiments carried out under postprandial conditions (26). On the other hand, results obtained in our laboratory had demonstrated that 10% coconut oil supplementation to the diet for 1 week produced a clear increase in cholesterol levels in VLDL in starved newborn chick (4) whereas in 14-day-old chicks this effect was not significant in the same conditions (4,28), suggesting that newborn chicks are more sensitive to 12:0 and 14:0 fatty acids than young animals. The high production of VLDL during the first neonatal period (7) may be explained by the accumulation of hepatic cholesterol esters during the last period of embryonic development and their exportation to other tissues.…”

“…The chick has been recognized as a suitable model for studies on the cholesterol metabolism and transport because it is highly sensitive to dietary modifications (4,6,16). The elevation in chick plasma lipid caused by saturated fat or cholesterol feeding is largely the result of increased low density (LDL) and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) pools, irrespective of the major circulating lipoprotein class (21).…”

“…The elevation in chick plasma lipid caused by saturated fat or cholesterol feeding is largely the result of increased low density (LDL) and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) pools, irrespective of the major circulating lipoprotein class (21). In our previous studies, we have reported that the synergistic effects of dietary cholesterol and saturated fat were especially evident in chick plasma VLDL (4). Likewise, the hypercholesterolemia of the newborn chick was mainly due to the accumulation of cholesterol-rich VLDL (7).…”