Effect of coffee oil and its unsaponifiable fraction on plasma cholesterol level in female rats

• Published in: International journal of food sciences and nutrition Vol. 50; no. 2; pp. 99 - 103
• Main Authors: AL-KANHAL, M. A, AHMED, F, ARIF, Z
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Informa UK Ltd 01.03.1999; Taylor & Francis; Nature Publishing; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Cholesterol; Cholesterol - blood; Coffee; Coffee - chemistry; Corn Oil - pharmacology; Dietary Fats, Unsaturated - pharmacology; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Food science; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Liver - anatomy & histology; Liver - drug effects; Nutrition; Oils & fats; Organ Size; Palmitic Acid - pharmacology; Phytosterols - pharmacology; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Rodents; Triglycerides - blood; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Coffea arabica; Rat; Rodentia; Lipids; Stimulant plant; Supplemented diet; Vegetal oil; Cholesterol; Feeding; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Lipemia; Dicotyledones; Animal; Angiospermae; Rubiaceae; Unsaponifiable; Coffee extract; Female; Spermatophyta
• ISSN: 0963-7486; 1465-3478
• DOI: 10.1080/096374899101283

The present study was conducted to identify the cholesterol-raising factor in coffee oil besides the other two well-known diterpenes, cafestol and kahweol. Female rats fed coffee oil for 4 weeks showed significantly higher level of plasma cholesterol (P< 0.01) and triacylglycerols (P < 0.01). Feeding unsaponifiable lipids of coffee oil caused significant decrease in plasma cholesterol; however, increase in triacylglycerol was observed. Rats given beta-sitosterol showed increase in plasma triacylglecerol and decrease in cholesterol levels, an effect similar to that observed with unsaponifiable lipids. beta-sitosterol is the major constituent of unsaponifiable lipids of the coffee oil. These results show that cafestol and kahweol diterpene alcohols are not the only cholesterol-raising factors in coffee oil.