title: Cholesterol-lowering potential in human subjects of fat from pigs fed rapeseed oil.
abstract: The possibility of achieving blood-lipid-lowering characteristics of pig fat by increasing the content of unsaturated fat in pig feed was evaluated. Three pig feeding regimens were applied: basal feed (no added fat or vitamin E), basal feed + rapeseed oil (60 g/kg feed), and basal feed + rapeseed oil (60 g/kg) + vitamin E (200 mg/kg). Meat and meat products from the three pig groups were incorporated into diets providing 86 g pig fat/10 MJ. The diets were served to twelve healthy human male subjects for 3 weeks each in a randomised crossover design. The diets prepared from pigs fed rapeseed oil had a lower content of saturated fatty acids (approximately 9 v. 11% of energy) and a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (approximately 6 v. 4% of energy) than the diet prepared from pigs fed the basal feed. Diets based on fat from pigs fed the rapeseed oil resulted in significantly lower (approximately 4%, P = 0.019) total serum cholesterol concentration compared with the diet from pigs fed the basal feed. No differences were observed in LDL-, HDL- or VLDL-cholesterol, or in triacylglycerol or VLDL-triacylglycerol concentrations. Addition of vitamin E to the pig feed resulted in only a minor increase in vitamin E content in the human subjects' diet and the vitamin E content was low in all three pig diets. Plasma vitamin E concentration in the human subjects at the end of the period with diets from pigs fed rapeseed oil without vitamin E was significantly lower (P = 0.04) than in the other two diet periods. In conclusion, an increased content of rapeseed oil in pig feed changes the fatty acid composition of the pig fat in a way that has a potential to reduce blood cholesterol concentrations in human subjects. However, intake of pig fat with a higher content of unsaturated fatty acids needs to be matched by a higher dietary intake of vitamin E.
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Human Nutrition, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Frederiksberg, Denmark. bsa@kvl.dk
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sandström
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bügel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lauridsen
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Skibsted
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001937:Brassica; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000097:blood*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013552:Swine; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D008074:Lipoproteins; D014810:Vitamin E; D002784:Cholesterol