The role of dietary fatty acids from plant-based oils in metabolic and vascular disease
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Date
2012-08, 2014-02
Authors
Enns, Jennifer Emily
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Elsevier
Elsevier
Abstract
Dietary fat has long been implicated in the etiology of metabolic and cardiovascular disease, and both the amount of fat and the fatty acid composition of the diet play a role in disease progression. Although national health organizations have set guidelines for the recommended intake of dietary fats, questions remain regarding the optimal dietary lipid profile for maintaining health and improving disease conditions. Whether certain types of fatty acids from plant-based oils can improve metabolic and vascular disease has been studied and debated, but not fully determined. In this study, we investigated the role of dietary fatty acids from plant-based oils, and examined their effects on metabolic and vascular disease parameters.
Obese fa/fa Zucker rats were fed a diet containing flaxseed oil, which resulted in smaller adipocytes and decreased adipose tissue T-cell infiltration. Obese-prone Sprague Dawley rats were fed high-fat diets with different proportions of mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Changes were observed in adipose tissue levels of fatty acid synthase, adiponectin and fatty acid receptors GPR41 and GPR43, but other metabolic and inflammatory mediators in adipose tissue and serum remained stable.
A systematic review and meta-analysis on the impact of n3 fatty acids on major cardiovascular endpoints showed that little evidence exists to support their role in peripheral arterial disease. Then again, very few studies on this topic have been conducted. To address this research gap, a clinical trial was designed to investigate the effects of a dietary intervention on blood vessel properties in people with peripheral arterial disease. Participants in the Canola-PAD Study consumed 25 g/day of canola oil or a Western diet oil mixture as part of their usual diet for 8 weeks. Although the intervention altered phospholipid fatty acids, vascular function, the lipid profile and inflammatory markers stayed relatively stable.
Overall, this research demonstrates that dietary fatty acids from plant-based oils can be immunomodulatory, but at the physiological doses tested they are not potent mediators of functional changes in obesity or vascular physiology.
Description
Keywords
alpha-linolenic acid, canola oil, omega-3 fatty acid, flaxseed oil, obesity, peripheral arterial disease
Citation
Baranowski M, Enns J, Blewett H, Yakandawala U, Zahradka P, Taylor C. Dietary flaxseed oil reduces adipocyte size, adipose monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 levels and T-cell infiltration in obese, insulin-resistant rats. Cytokine (2012) Aug;59(2):382-91.
Enns JE, Hanke D, Park A, Zahradka P, Taylor CG. Diets high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids decrease fatty acid synthase protein levels in adipose tissue but do not alter other markers of adipose function and inflammation in diet-induced obese rats. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids (2014) Feb-Mar;90(2-3):77-84.
Enns JE, Hanke D, Park A, Zahradka P, Taylor CG. Diets high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids decrease fatty acid synthase protein levels in adipose tissue but do not alter other markers of adipose function and inflammation in diet-induced obese rats. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids (2014) Feb-Mar;90(2-3):77-84.