Long-term effects of dietary alpha-linolenic acid from perilla oil on serum fatty acids composition and on the risk factors of coronary heart disease in Japanese elderly subjects

• Published in: Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology Vol. 45; no. 6; pp. 759 - 772
• Main Authors: Ezaki, O. (National Inst. of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo (Japan)), Takahashi, M, Shigematsu, T, Shimamura, K, Kimura, J, Ezaki, H, Gotoh, T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Center for Academic Publications Japan 1999
• Subjects: ACEITES VEGETALES; ACIDE GRAS; ACIDE LINOLENIQUE; ACIDO LINOLENICO; ACIDOS GRASOS; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; alpha-Linolenic Acid - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; BLOOD SERUM; Cardiology. Vascular system; CARDIOPATHIE; Cooking; Coronary Disease - etiology; Coronary heart disease; Dietary Fats - pharmacology; ELDERLY; elderly subjects; ENFERMEDADES CARDIACAS; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; EPA; FATTY ACIDS; Fatty Acids - blood; Female; Heart; HEART DISEASES; HUILE VEGETALE; Humans; JAPAN; JAPON; LINOLENIC ACID; Lipids - blood; Lipoproteins - blood; Lipoproteins, LDL - blood; Male; Medical sciences; n-6/n-3 ratio; oxidized LDL; PERILLA; PERSONNE AGEE; PLANT OILS; Plant Oils - pharmacology; RIESGO; RISK; Risk Factors; RISQUE; SERUM SANGUIN; SUERO SANGUINEO; TERCERA EDAD; α-linolenic acid; Asia; Japan; Human; Senescence; Long term test; Cardiovascular disease; Lipids; Supplemented diet; Vegetal oil; Fatty acids; Coronary heart disease; Feeding; Blood plasma; Lipoprotein LDL; Linolenic acid; Risk factor; Oxidation; Elderly
• ISSN: 0301-4800; 1881-7742
• DOI: 10.3177/jnsv.45.759

Although important roles of dietary n-3 fatty acids in the revention of coronary heart disease (CHD) have been suggested, long-term effects of dietary alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3/3n-3) have not yet been established under controlled conditions. We tested whether a moderate increase of dietary ALA affects fatty acids composition in serum and the risk factors of CHD. Oxidized LDL (OxLDL) was directly measured by ELISA using antibody specific to OxLDL. By merely replacing soybean cooking oil (SO) with perilla oil (PO) (i.e., increasing 3 g/d of ALA), the n-6/n-3 ratio in the diet was changed from 4:1 to 1:1. Twenty Japanese elderly subjects were initially given a SO diet for at least 6 mo (baseline period), a PO diet for 10 mo (intervention period), and then returned to the previous SO diet (washout period). ALA in the total serum lipid increased from 0.8 to 1.6% after 3mo on the PO diet, but EPA and DHA increased in a later time, at 10 mo after the PO diet, from 2.5 to 3.6% and 5.3 to 6.4%, respectively (p0.05), and then returned to baseline in the washout period. In spite of increases of serum n-3 fatty acids, the OxLDL concentration did not change significantly when given the PO diet. Body weight, total serum cholesterol, triacylglycerol, glucose, insulin and HbAlc concentrations, platelet count and aggregation function, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen and PAI-1 concentration, and other routine blood analysis did not change significantly when given the PO diet. These data indicate that, even in elderly subjects, a 3 g/d increase of dietary ALA could increase serum EPA and DHA in 10 mo without any major adverse effects