Hypercholesterolemic Effect of Menhaden Oil in the Presence of Dietary Cholesterol in Swine. ∗ †

Abstract

Summary

Thirty male miniature swine were fed a beef tallow basal ration supplemented with crude soybean phosphatides and menhaden oil with and without 0.5% cholesterol for a period of 48 weeks. The animals that received no cholesterol supplement all maintained normal plasma cholesterol values (75–85 mg %). The swine fed soybean phosphatides plus cholesterol showed no change in plasma cholesterol values. The swine fed beef tallow showed on cholesterol supplementation a rise in plasma cholesterol, but returned to normal in 12 weeks. The swine fed menhaden oil showed a 100% increase in plasma cholesterol when supplemented with 0.5% cholesterol and, although this level decreased, it remained substantially above the remaining groups throughout the experiment. Fecal analyses of cholesterol showed much less cholesterol in the feces of fish oil-fed pigs supplemented with cholesterol, indicating that the fish oil (or the highly unsaturated fatty acids in fish oil) may have facilitated the absorption of the dietary cholesterol. The heart and liver analyses showed much lower levels of cholesterol than the other groups, suggesting that the polyunsaturated fatty acids of the fish oil may have aided in transport of the cholesterol to prevent an accumulation in these tissue sites.