REPLACEMENT OF PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL BY PALM OIL IN MARGARINE WITHOUT UNFAVORABLE EFFECTS ON SERUM-LIPOPROTEINS

We have compared the effects of three different margarines, one based on palm oil (PALM-margarine), one based on partially hydrogenated soyb ean oil (TRANS-margarine) and one with a high content of polyunsaturat ed fatty acids (PUFA-margarine), on serum lipids in 27 young women. Th e main purpose of the study was to test if replacement of trans fatty acids in margarine by palmitic acid results in unfavorable effects on serum lipids. The sum of saturated fatty acids (12.0, 14:0, 16:0) was 36.3% of total fatty acids in the PALM-diet, the same as the sum of sa turated (12:0, 14:0, 16:0) (12.5%) and trans (23.1%) fatty acids in th e TRANS-diet. This sum was 20.7% in the PUFA-diet. The content of olei c acid was 37.9, 35.2, and 38.6%, respectively, in the three diets, wh ereas linoleic acid amounted to 16, 13.5, and 27.3%, respectively. Tot al fat provided 30-31% and the test margarines 26% of total energy in all three diets. The subjects consumed each of the diets for 17 d in a Latin-square crossover design. There were no significant differences in total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and ap olipoprotein B (apoB) between the TRANS- and the PALM-diets. High dens ity lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and apoA-I were significantly higher on the PALM-diet compared to the TRANS-diet whereas the ratio of LDL- cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol was lower, although not significantly ( P = 0.077) on the PALM-diet. Total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and a poB were significantly lower on the PUFA-diet compared to the two othe r diets. HDL-cholesterol was not different on the PALM- and the PUFA-d iets but it was significantly lower on the TRANS-diet compared to the PUFA diet. Compared to the PU FA-diet the ratio of LDL- to HDL-cholest erol was higher on both the PALM- and the TRANS-diets whereas apoA-I w as not different. Triglycerides and lipoprotein (a) were not significa ntly different among the three diets. We concluded that nutritionally, palmitic acid from palm oil may be a reasonable alternative to trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated soybean oil in margarine if th e aim is to avoid trans fatty acids. A palm oil-based margarine is, ho wever, less favorable than one based on a more polyunsaturated vegetab le oil.