Basic nutritional investigation Hypolipidemic effect of mustard oil enriched with medium chain fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid Avery Sengupta M.Sc., Mahua Ghosh Ph.D. * Department of Chemical Technology, University of Calcutta, India article info Article history: Received 26 August 2010 Accepted 27 January 2011 Keywords: Structured lipids Plasma lipids Tissue lipids Hypolipidemia Fatty acid composition abstract Objective: The hypolipidemic effect of two structured lipids prepared from mustard oil was studied: one was medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) rich mustard oil and the other was polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) rich mustard oil. Methods: Thirty-six rats were involved in the study with six rats in each group. Three groups were normal, whereas the others were hypercholesterolemic. Hypolipidemic effects were investigated in both plasma and tissues. Results: Both structured lipids with similar content of functional fatty acids (about 19%) were fed (20% of diet weight) to normal and hypercholesterolemic male albino rats. After 28 d of feeding, the fat and protein digestibility increased by administration of the two structured lipids in comparison with the control group fed with normal mustard oil. In both normal and hypercholesterolemic condition plasma cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein, and triacylglycerols were reduced by feeding the rats with experimental oils, but the reduction was in lesser amount in rats fed with MCFA-rich mustard oil than in rats fed with PUFA-rich mustard oil and same findings were also seen in hyper- cholesterolemia. However the HDL levels increased with the administration of both experimental oils. Conclusion: Mustard oil can be enriched with MCFA and n-3 PUFA and these modified lipids exhibited hypocholesterolemic and hypolipidemic effects in rats when compared to unmodified mustard oil. Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is on the rise in Asian countries like India [1–3], which may account for at least one third of all deaths by the year 2015 [4,5] and replace infectious diseases as the major causes of death in India. Risk factors identified for CVD include high concentrations of lipids, cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, hypertriglyceridemia, lower concen- trations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and elevated concentrations of lipoprotein in the plasma [1]. Studies have shown that diet and in particular dietary lipids have important roles in controlling the concentrations of these risk factors [6–8]. The quality of a dietary fat is dependant on the type of fatty acid, namely, chain length, unsaturation, geometry [9,10], and position on the glycerol backbone. The minor components in the oils may also provide beneficial effects to reduce risk factors for CVD. Modified lipids, known as structured lipids (SL), are tri- acylglycerols (TAG) restructured or modified to change the fatty acid composition and/or their positional distribution in glycerol molecules. SL may provide the most effective means of delivering the desired fatty acids for nutritive or therapeutic purposes [11]. Medium chain triglycerides (MCT) containing C6-C10 saturated fatty acids may not be metabolized via the lymphatic system like long-chain triglycerides (LCT), but rather metabolized via the portal vein to provide quick energy. The use of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) for quick energy may lead to a decrease in glucose requirements; because MCFA may not be incorporated into chylomicrons, they are less likely to be stored in adipose tissue. Rather, they may be oxidized preferentially in the liver. Therefore, smaller molecule size and relatively higher solubility of MCT in water result in different digestive and absorptive metabolic pathways compared with LCT [12,13]. However, MCT alone cannot meet all the need. Therefore, SL containing both essential fatty acids and MCFA in a TAG molecule may be useful to target specific diseases, metabolic conditions, and optimal nutrition [11]. Blending of oils represents a physical mixture of two or more oils. Blending of oils has been used as an approach to enhance the oxidative stability and nutritional value of oils [14]. One can * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91 33 23510050; fax: þ91 33 23519755. E-mail address: mahuag@gmail.com (M. Ghosh). 0899-9007/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2011.01.010 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Nutrition journal homepage: www.nutritionjrnl.com Nutrition 27 (2011) 1183–1193