Differential Effect of Walnut Oil and Safflower Oil on the Serum Cholesterol Level and Lesion Area in the Aortic Root of Apolipoprotein E-deficient Mice

• Published in: Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry Vol. 66; no. 1; pp. 141 - 146
• Main Authors: IWAMOTO, Masako, KONO, Misaki, KAWAMOTO, Daisuke, TOMOYORI, Hiroko, SATO, Masao, IMAIZUMI, Katsumi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry 01.01.2002; Japan Society for Bioscience Biotechnology and Agrochemistry; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Animals; Aorta - drug effects; Aorta - metabolism; Aorta - pathology; apolipoprotein E-deficient mice; Apolipoproteins E - genetics; Apolipoproteins E - metabolism; Apolipoproteins E - physiology; Arteriosclerosis - blood; Arteriosclerosis - metabolism; Arteriosclerosis - pathology; Atherosclerosis (general aspects, experimental research); atherosclerotic lesion; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Cardiology. Vascular system; cholesterol; Cholesterol - blood; cholesterol oxidation product; Dietary Fats, Unsaturated - pharmacology; Disease Models, Animal; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Female; Growth; linoleic acid; Lipid Metabolism; Lipids - blood; Liver - metabolism; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Oxidation-Reduction; Plant Oils - pharmacology; Safflower Oil - pharmacology; Safflower oil; Animal model; Rodentia; Cardiovascular disease; Lipids; Cholesterol; Vascular disease; Prevention; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Walnut oil; Mouse; Apolipoprotein E; Food intake; Animal; Atherosclerosis; Plant origin; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0916-8451; 1347-6947
• DOI: 10.1271/bbb.66.141

Walnut oil (WO) is a good source of α-linolenic acid. We compared the effects of WO and high-linoleic safflower oil (HLSO) on the serum lipid level and atherosclerosis development in male and female apolipoprotein (apo) E-deficient mice. The WO diet resulted in a higher level of serum cholesterol than with HLSO. Female mice fed on the WO diet had a greater lesion area in the aortic root than did those on the HLSO diet. There was no diet-dependent difference in the level of cholesterol and its oxidation products in the abdominal and thoracic aorta. These results suggest that the unpleasant effects of the WO diet on apo E-deficient mice may be attributable to α-linolenic acid.