Use of rice bran oil in patients with hyperlipidaemia.
BACKGROUND
The quantity and type of dietary fat is known to affect plasma lipid concentration and hence the choice of cooking oil is important to lower the risk of coronary heart disease. Rice bran oil, which was not popular worldwide, is slowly being recognized as a 'healthy' oil in India. We assessed if rice bran oil had hypolipidaemic effects in subjects with elevated lipid levels.


METHODS
The study had a cross-over design with subjects (n = 14) randomly assigned to consume either rice bran oil or refined sunflower oil in their homes, for a period of 3 months (period 1). After a washout period of 3 weeks, they were crossed over to the other oil (period 2). The serum lipid values were estimated at the beginning, on day 45 and day 90 of each phase. Additional parameters assessed included anthropometry, dietary and physical activity patterns.


RESULTS
The use of rice bran oil significantly reduced plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride levels compared with sunflower oil. The reduction in plasma LDL-cholesterol with rice bran oil was just short of statistical significance (p = 0.06). HDL-cholesterol levels were unchanged.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of rice bran oil as the main cooking oil significantly reduced serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The use of rice bran oil together with dietary and lifestyle modifications may have implications for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
St John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore 560034, Karnataka, India. rebecca@iphcr.res.in
Rebecca
R
Kuriyan
N
N
Gopinath
Mario
M
Vaz
Anura V
AV
Kurpad
D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000178:diet therapy*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000073879:Rice Bran Oil; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D000074242:Sunflower Oil
D008055:Lipids; D010938:Plant Oils; D000074242:Sunflower Oil; D000073879:Rice Bran Oil