The effect of a moderately thermoxidized dietary fat on the vitamin E status, the fatty acid composition of tissue lipids, and the susceptibility of low‐density lipoproteins to lipid peroxidation in rats

Several studies demonstrated that dietary oxidized oils markedly affect the vitamin E status and alter the fatty acid composition of tissue lipids in animals. It must however be emphasized that highly oxidized oils reduce the feed intake of animals, which makes it difficult to interpret the results. Therefore, the present study used a moderately thermoxidized soybean oil (peroxide value: 75 mEq O 2 /kg), having a similar fatty acid composition as fresh soybean oil (peroxide value: 9.5mEq O 2 /kg) which was used as control. Moreover, according to a bifactorial design, two different vitamin E supplementary levels (11 vs. 511 mg at-tocopherol equivalents per kg diet) were used. The experiment was conducted with male Sprague-Dawley rats. The feeding period lasted for 40 days. In order to assess the vitamin E status, the vitamin E concentrations in plasma, liver, heart, kidney, and adipose tissue were determined. The vitamin E supply had a pronounced effect on the vitamin E concentrations of those tissues whereas the type of fat had only a slight effect. The fatty acid composition of total lipids from liver, erythrocytes, and low-density lipoproteins was also only slightly influenced by the oxidized fat. The osmotic fragility of erythrocytes was even reduced by feeding the oxidized oil. With a low vitamin E supply, the in vitro susceptibility of low-density lipoproteins to lipid peroxidation was slightly increased by feeding the oxidized oil. In contrast, with a high vitamin E supply, there was no adverse effect of the dietary oxidized oil on the susceptibility of low-density lipoproteins to lipid peroxidation. Feeding the oxidized oil, however, increased the concentrations of malondialdehyde in low-density lipoproteins suggesting an increased in vivo lipid peroxidation. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that moderately oxidized dietary fats increase the atherogenicity of low-density lipoproteins. In contrast, a moderately oxidized oil scarcely affected the vitamin E status and the fatty acid composition of tissue lipids.