LIPEMIA AND LIVER COMPOSITION IN PREGNANT RATS CONSUMING OLIVE OIL AND OLIVE OIL USED FOR FRYING

The effect of the consumption of unused olive oil (polar content, 2 %; oleic acid, 78.9 mg/100 mg oil, and linoleic acid 7 mg/100 mg oil) an d olive oil used discontinuously for frying potatoes 15 times (polar c ontent, 9 %; oleic acid, 75.8 mg/100 mg oil and linoleic acid 6.2 mg/1 00 mg oil) was studied in pregnant rats with the aim of better underst anding the relationship between the consumption of fat used in frying and lipid metabolism during periods of intense anabolism. Trials were performed in pregnant Wistar rats, divided into 2 groups and fed isoca loric diets in which the fat content (15 % wt/wt) consisted of unused olive oil (P1) or oil previously used for frying (P2), and the results were compared with those of nonpregnant rats fed unused olive oil (NP 1) and olive oil used for frying (NP2). Pregnancy increased (p<0.01) f ood intake, body weight, weight gain, and food efficiency ratio (P2 vs NP2 and P1 vs NP1, respectively), but the treatment of oil included i n the diets did not alter these parameters. Gestation significantly in creased the serum triglyceride (TG) (p<0.01) and total cholesterol (TC ) (p<0.05) concentrations and diminished that of phospholipids (PH) (p <0.01). A significant effect of the type of oil consumed and a pregnan cy x oil interaction on Tg and PH levels was observed. The weight of t he liver and its fat content increased significantly (p<0.05) as a res ult of pregnancy. Liver TC, TG, and PH increased (approximately 3 time s the original values) during gestation, but no significant difference s due to the intake of used or unused oil (P2 vs P1) were observed. Th e results indicate that the consumption of moderately altered olive oi l, as the sole source of fat, does not alter the effect of pregnancy o n the mothers' weight gain, lipaemia, and hepatic fat composition to a ny important degree.