DIETARY FATS AND CHOLESTEROL SUPPLEMENTATION EFFECTS ON AORTIC AND LIPID RESPONSE IN RATS

The experiment was designed to elucidate the effects of feeding four d ietary oils (corn, hazelnut, olive, and fish), and cholesterol supplem entation on plasma, liver lipids, and aortic smooth muscle response to drugs. Male Sprague Dawley rats were fed semipurified diets containin g one of the above oils (15% wt/wt), either with or without cholestero l supplementation (1% wt/wt), for 20 days. Hazelnut oil-fed mts showed the highest plasma total cholesterol level, while animals fed fish oi l exhibited the lowest plasma total and high density lipoprotein chole sterol concentrations. Hepatic cholesterol content was not affected by dietary oils. Liver lipids increased when dietary cholesterol was add ed to any of the oils used. Acetylcholine pD(2) was elevated in fish o il- and hazelnut oil-fed rats, but rats fed all dietary oils showed ma ximal relaxation. Cholesterol supplementation reduced aortic maximal r elaxation caused by acetylcholine. These results indicate that the typ e of dietary oil and cholesterol intake differentially raise plasma an d liver lipid levels and modulate aortic smooth muscle response in the rat.