Evidence for an inverse relation between plasma triglyceride and aortic cholesterol in the coconut oil/cholesterol-fed rabbit.

Rabbits fed a commercial chow diet containing 0.5% cholesterol and 14% coconut oil developed more severe hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis than rabbits fed the same diet containing olive oil in place of coconut oil. Average plasma cholesterol was twice as high in the coconut oil/cholesterol-fed rabbits than in olive oil/cholesterol-fed rabbits. Final plasma triglycerides, although highly variable, were approx. 20-fold higher than basal plasma triglyceride in coconut oil/cholesterol-fed rabbits; plasma triglyceride in olive oil/cholesterol-fed rabbits remained unchanged throughout the study period. In coconut oil/cholesterol-fed rabbits, a direct relationship between plasma triglyceride and aortic cholesterol was not found. Plasma cholesterol and aortic cholesterol were also not correlated at a statistically significant level (r = 0.26, P greater than 0.25). However, when both plasma cholesterol and triglyceride were simultaneously introduced as predictors of aortic cholesterol, the correlation between these plasma lipids and aortic cholesterol became highly significant (r = 0.64, P less than 0.02). Aortic cholesterol increased in proportion to plasma cholesterol concentrations but appeared to be inversely related to plasma triglyceride levels.