MULTIGENERATION STUDIES ON RED PALM OIL, AND ON HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL CONTAINING MAHUA OIL

Edible grade red palm oil (RPO; Elaeis guineensis) is being considered for use an an edible oil in India since it is one of the richest natu ral sources of carotenoids. Earlier chemical and nutritional evaluatio ns in rats indicated no adverse effects. Multigeneration breeding stud ies in rats have now been carried out. Mahua oil (MO; Madhuca latifoli a) is used in hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) for human consumption. Earlier studies on MO indicated adverse effects on the male reproducti ve system. Hence, a study was undertaken to evaluate the safety of HVO containing 30% MO (MO-HVO) in terms of reproductive performance. A th ree-generation study was conducted with groups of 12 male and 12 femal e Wistar/NIN/inbred albino rats fed, at 10% in the diet (20% protein), groundnut oil (controls), RPO, refined, bleached and deodorized palmo lein (RBDPO), or MO-HVO. Reproductive parameters including percentage conception, birth weight, litter size, weanling weight, sex ratio at b irth and weaning, preweaning mortality and number of days from introdu ction to mating, were recorded. Behavioural and reflexological tests w ere conducted on preweaning animals. Adult animals were subjected to w eekly observation. No significant differences were found between the R PO and MO-HVO groups in comparison with groups fed GNO or RBDPO in any of the above parameters. However, certain indications of reduced fert ility were observed in the MO-HVO group in the first and third generat ions. The results indicate that RPO did not produce any adverse effect on reproductive performance or other toxicological parameters studied , and therefore it can be considered as safe for consumption. On the o ther hand, HVO containing 30% MO needs further testing with a larger n umber of animals.