RESEARCH ARTICLE

Journal of Oil Palm Research Vol. 6 No. 2 1994 Dec, p. 131-137

BLOOD PLASMA AND LIVER LIPIDS OF RATS FED PHYSICALLY REFINED AND RE-REFINED PALM OIL

MIYAZAWA, T*; REBHUNG, T*; FUJIMOTO, K*; KANEDA, T**

Received: 6 July 1993   Accepted: 18 October 1994  
ABSTRACT

Physically-refined palm oil (PRPO) and palm oil after further chemical refining (chemically-refined palm oil, CRPO) were included in the diet of rats and the effects on plasma and liver lipids were studied and compared. No differences in body weight gain or organ weights were observed as between the rats fed the PRPO and the CRPO diets for two months. Differences in plasma total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and phospholipid content as between the rats fed the PRPO diet and those fed the CRPO diet were not evident. Liver total cholesterol, phospholipid, phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide, phosphatidylethanolamine hydroperoxide and α-tocopherol contents were also not significantly different as between the rats on the two diets. Liver and plasma triglyceride levels did differ between rats on the two palm oil diets, however. The results show that differences between the dietary effects of PRPO and CRPO on the tissue lipid profiles in the rats were relatively small.

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* Department of Applied Biological Chemistry,
Tohoku University,
Tsutsumidori Amamiyamachi,
Sendai, Japan.

** Kohriyama Women's College, Japan.