Effects of palm oil consumption on serum cholesterol
Publicación:
Revista Palmas; Vol. 21 Núm. especial, (2000); 386-393
0121-2923
Revista Palmas; Vol. 21 Núm. especial, (2000); 386-393
0121-2923
Abstract
Animal experiments have shown that diets in which the only source of fat was saturated fat (SF) increase total serum cholesterol (TC) and lipoprotein (LP) levels while mono and polyunsaturated fats tend to decrease them. Practical and ethical considerations prevent this type of experiments in human subjects, yet, animal findings are frequently extrapolated a critically to human populations leading to non-substantiated beliefs that ingestion of any amount of saturated fatty acids (SFA) may be deleterious to health. Edible oils are composed of both SFA and unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) in different proportions depending on the plant that produce them. Palm olein contains similar amounts of SFA and UFA, therefore, its ingestion is not equivalent to the use of unique sources of either SFA or UFA in animal experiments. Nutritional interventions in groups of people in different countries in which palm olein was used as sole source of fat for cooking have shown either no increase or even decreases in serum TC and LP levels. Our own experiments in which we administered high (2%) cholesterol diets with either commercial fat or oil to rats for 180 days showed that while animals in the lard diet maintained extremely high TC levels during the whole experimental period, those in the oil diet, after initially similar high levels of TC progressively showed a decrease until at the end of the experiment the TC was normal. Other studies with human populations, which normally use palm olein in Colombia, show that there are no significant differences in TC and LP when compared with similar populations that use other types of commercial oils. These findings will be discussed in regard to the effect of palm olein consumption on serum lipids in humans. Experimentos en animales a los que se les han suministrado dietas semisintéticas han demostrado que la utilización de grasas saturadas (AGS) como fuente de lípido incrementa los niveles de colesterol total sérico (CT) y de lipoproteínas (LP) presentes en la sangre. Por el contrario, la inclusión en la dieta de ácidos grasos mono (AGMI) y poliinsaturados (AGPI) tiende a disminuir dichos niveles. Debido a las dificultades técnicas y éticas, este tipo de intervención no se puede hacer en humanos. Sin embargo, los resultados obtenidos en animales se extrapolan al hombre en forma frecuentemente poco critica, lo que lleva a creencias generalizadas de que cualquier fuente de lípidos que contenga AGS es perjudicial para la salud. Los aceites están compuestos de triacilgliceroles en los que, dependiendo de la fuente, se encuentran diferentes proporciones de AGMI y AGPI. La oleína de palma se caracteriza por tener un equilibrio entre AGS e insaturados AGI, de manera que su consumo no equivale a modelos en que se usan sólo ácidos grasos saturados. Intervenciones nutricionales en personas sanas de diferentes países en las que el aceite de palma fue la única fuente de grasa añadida en la preparación de alimentos no muestran que se afecten negativamente los niveles de CT y LP y en algunos casos se encuentra una disminución en estos parámetros. Nuestros experimentos con dietas altas en colesterol (2%) y aceites y mantecas comerciales muestran que en ratas de laboratorio mientras los niveles de CT se mantienen exageradamente altos durante los seis meses del experimento en las ratas que consumen la dieta con manteca, van descendiendo hasta llegar a lo normal antes de los 180 días en las ratas que consumen las dietas que contienen aceite. Otros estudios nuestros con poblaciones de personas consumidoras habituales de oleína de palma no encontraron diferencias significativas en diferentes parámetros de lípidos sanguíneos. Se discutirán estos experimentos en relación con el efecto de la ingesta de aceite de palma sobre el perfil lipídico en humanos.
Animal experiments have shown that diets in which the only source of fat was saturated fat (SF) increase total serum cholesterol (TC) and lipoprotein (LP) levels while mono and polyunsaturated fats tend to decrease them. Practical and ethical considerations prevent this type of experiments in human subjects, yet, animal findings are frequently extrapolated a critically to human populations leading to non-substantiated beliefs that ingestion of any amount of saturated fatty acids (SFA) may be deleterious to health. Edible oils are composed of both SFA and unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) in different proportions depending on the plant that produce them. Palm olein contains similar amounts of SFA and UFA, therefore, its ingestion is not equivalent to the use of unique sources of either SFA or UFA in animal experiments. Nutritional interventions in groups of people in different countries in which palm olein was used as sole source of fat for cooking have shown either no increase or even decreases in serum TC and LP levels. Our own experiments in which we administered high (2%) cholesterol diets with either commercial fat or oil to rats for 180 days showed that while animals in the lard diet maintained extremely high TC levels during the whole experimental period, those in the oil diet, after initially similar high levels of TC progressively showed a decrease until at the end of the experiment the TC was normal. Other studies with human populations, which normally use palm olein in Colombia, show that there are no significant differences in TC and LP when compared with similar populations that use other types of commercial oils. These findings will be discussed in regard to the effect of palm olein consumption on serum lipids in humans.
Palabras clave:
aceite de palma
ácidos grasos
colesterol
lipoproteínas
salud
valor nutritivo
metabolismo de lípidos
aceite de palma
ácidos grasos
colesterol
lipoproteínas
salud
valor nutritivo
metabolismo de lípidos