Effects on plasma triacylglycerol

Consumption of fats containing n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids lowers plasma LDLs, but HDLs, which protect against coronary heart disease, are also lowered. Dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fats have little effect on plasma HDL or LDL levels, but they suppress cardiac arrhythmias and reduce serum triacylglycerols, decrease the tendency to thrombosis, and substantially reduce the risk of cardiovascular mortality. 

Table 2. Effects of 3-thia fatty acids with different chain-length and palmitic acid (control) on plasma triacylglycerol and phospholipid levels after 7 days of treatment. Results are expressed as means SD of five different animals in each group. Significantly different from control P < 0.05. From. ...

There is accumulating evidence from animal studies that CLA has potential health benefits for humans (Sebedio et al., 1999 Roche et al., 2001). Potential anti-cancer properties of CLA have been reported using rodent mammary and colon cancer models (see Sebedio et al., 1999). Potential beneficial effects of CLA on body composition (i.e. reduced fat mass) have been reported in rodents, chickens and pigs (see Sebedio et al., 1999 Roche et al., 2001). Effects of CLA on plasma triacylglycerol concentration, on glucose homeostasis, on atherosclerosis, and on inunune function have also been reported in animal studies (see Sebedio et al., 1999 Roche et al., 2001). Many of these animal studies have used a mix of CLA isomers, but predominantly the cis 9, trans 11... 

Cater, N.B., Heller, H.J., and Denke, M.A. Comparison of the effects of medium-chain triacylglycerols, palm oil, and high oleic acid sunflower oil on plasma triacylglycerol fatty acids and lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in humans. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 65, 41 5, 1997. 

Probucol (Figure 20-12) significantly reduces plasma cholesterol levels but has no effect on triacylglycerols. It may act via blockage of intestinal cholesterol transport. HDL cholesterol levels are reduced by this drug. No consistent side effects have been reported. 

Fig. (5) Effects of tea saponin on rat plasma triacylglycerol levels after oral administration of a lipid emulsion. Each point represents the mean s.e.m. of four rats. p<0.05, significantly different from lipid emulsion only-...

As a natural source of antioxidants, almond may be of great value in preventing the onset and/ or occurrence of oxidative stress and its related diseases [68]. Almond appears to have beneficial effects on blood cholesterol level and lipoprotein profile in humans [69]. Diets containing almond meal or oil were shown to reduce plasma triacylglycerols (TAG) and total and LDL cholesterol concentrations, increase the resistance of LDL to oxidation, and increase the concentration of HDL... 

Camielli, V.P., Luijendijk, I.H.T., van Beek, R.H.T., Boerma, G.J.M., Degenhart, H.J. and Sauer, P.J.J. (1995). Effect of dietary triacylglycerol fatty acid positional distribution on plasma lipid classes and their fatty acid composition in pre-term infants. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 62, 776-781. 

Sesamin has been associated with the reduction of serum and liver lipids (Hirose etal., 1991,1996 Ide etal., 2001 Yasumoto etal., 2001). Hirose etal. (1991) reported that sesamin decreased lymphatic absorption of cholesterol. Sesamin was found to be a promoter of hepatic fatty acid oxidation in rats (Ashakumary et al., 1999). Addition of a 1 1 mixture of sesamin and episesamin to the diet of rats (0.1-0.5% of total diet) promoted mitochondrial and peroxisomal palmitoyl coenzyme A (CoA) oxidation rates in a dose-dependent manner. Rats fed diets containing 0.5% sesamin had 2 fold higher mitochondrial activity and 10 fold higher peroxisomal activity than rats fed non-sesamin diets. Yasumoto et al. (2001) reported similar findings when a 20% sesame seed diet was fed to rats. These authors compared two experimental sesame seed lines (0730 and 0732) with the commercial cultivar Masekin. Both experimental seed lines enhanced mitochondrial and peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation rates, and were more effective than the commercial cultivar at reducing plasma triacylglycerol levels (Yasumoto et al., 2001). A study of the effects of dietary sesamin on the hepatic metabolism of arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acids in rats showed similar increases in hepatic mitochondrial and peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation (Sawada et al., 2001). 

Consequently, a more objective way to measure the habitual intake of milk fat would be the fatty acid composition of adipose tissue. However, this is not routinely performed in larger cohort studies, due to cost and that the procedure is invasive and less tolerated by study participants. Analysis of plasma fatty acid composition is thus a more feasible option for examination to determine dairy intake in the study population. While some groups have separated plasma into its constituent phospholipids and cholesterol esters to analyze serum 15 0 and 17 0 as markers of dairy intake (Smedman et al., 1999), Baylin et al. (2005) found that plasma that was not separated into its constituent cholesteryl ester, phospholipids, and triacylglycerols was still able to reflect habitual dairy intakes comparably to adipose tissue. Thus, whole plasma is an acceptable alternative to fractionated plasma in the absence of adipose tissue for analysis to reflect habitual dairy intakes and may be a cost effective option for consideration when conducting future intervention studies to assess the affect of dairy products on health outcomes. 

---