Effects of dietary peanut oil on serum lipoprotein patterns of rats.

Oils prepared from two varieties of peanuts and from a hybrid corn having linoleic acid concentrations substantially different from the respective commercial oils were compared with commercial oils for their effects on serum lipids of weanling female rats. In the first experiment, serum lipid patterns appeared to reflect linoleic acid content of the dietary oil. However, with a longer feeding period in the second experiment, serum lipid patterns were determined by the plant source of the dietary oil rather than its linoleic acid content; all peanut oils differed from both corn oils in their physiological effects. Diets containing triglyceride, hydrocarbon and sterol fractions obtained by liquid chromatography of peanut and corn oils were fed to female rats. The data provide no evidence that the hydrocarbon or sterol fractions of peanut oil are responsible for its unusual atherogenicity when fed as the sole fat source or that similar fractions from corn oil are protective against the effects of peanut oil.