Effect of dietary fish oil on plasma lipoprotein cholesterol in rats fed a diet enriched in cholesterol and sucrose.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of dietary fish oil on plasma lipoprotein cholesterol levels in rats fed different carbohydrate sources. Male Wistar rats fed a soy bean oil diet or a fish oil diet containing 0.5% cholesterol were studied for 7 weeks. Corn starch or sucrose were used as carbohydrate sources in the experimental diet. Fish oil supplementation significantly (p < 0.05) decreased plasma VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) cholesterol in rats fed a diet containing corn starch. However, there was no significant difference in plasma total cholesterol and LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol in rats fed a corn starch diet with fish oil treatment. In the experiment with sucrose, significantly (p < 0.05) decreased plasma total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and VLDL cholesterol were observed in rats fed a fish oil diet. Although higher plasma total and VLDL cholesterol levels were found in rats fed the sucrose diet when compared with those fed the corn starch diet, no significant difference between the corn starch group and the sucrose group was observed in rats after fish oil treatment. Results from the present study suggest that the carbohydrate source might play an important role in the regulation of plasma lipoprotein metabolism in rats fed fish oil.