Conjugated linoleic acid in canadian dairy and beef products.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a dietary fatty acid produced by ruminant animals and exhibits promising beneficial health effects. CLA has been identified as having anticancer, antiatherogenic, and body fat reducing effects. There are no published data on the CLA content of Canadian beef and dairy products. The purpose of this study was to assess the level and type of CLA isomers found in commercial beef and dairy products. Under the present experimental conditions only the Delta9c,11t-18:2 isomer was detected. Other minor isomers, which may be present, were not determined by the method used in this study. Levels of CLA ranged between 1.2 and 6.2 mg/g of fat or 0.001-4.3 mg/g or mg/mL of sample. On the basis of a usual serving size, levels of CLA ranged between 0.03 and 81.0 mg per serving. It is concluded that the Delta9c,11t-18:2 isomer is present in dairy and beef products and levels when expressed per gram of fat are not significantly different among products.

Fish oil reduces cholesterol and arachidonic acid content more efficiently in rats fed diets containing low linoleic acid to saturated fatty acid ratios.

Rats were fed diets containing a high level of saturated fatty acids (hydrogenated beef tallow) versus a high level of linoleic acid (safflower oil) at both low and high levels of fish oil containing 7.5% (w/w) eicosapentaenoic and 2.5% (w/w) docosahexaenoic acids for a period of 28 days. The effect of feeding these diets on the cholesterol content and fatty acid composition of serum and liver lipids was examined. Feeding diets high in fish oil with safflower oil decreased the cholesterol content of rat serum, whereas feeding fish oil had no significant effect on the cholesterol content of serum when fed in combination with saturated fatty acids. The serum cholesterol level was higher in animals fed safflower oil compared to animals fed saturated fat without fish oil. Consumption of fish oil lowered the cholesterol content of liver tissue regardless of the dietary fat fed. Feeding diets containing fish oil reduced the arachidonic acid content of rat serum and liver lipid fractions, the decrease being more pronounced when fish oil was fed in combination with hydrogenated beef tallow than with safflower oil. These results suggest that dietary n-3 fatty acids of fish oil interact with dietary linoleic acid and saturated fatty acids differently to modulate enzymes of cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism.