Antihypertensive effect of dietary sunflowerseed oil and linseed oil in spontaneously hypertensive rats during a multigeneration feeding study.

Semisynthetic diets enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids (30 en% sunflowerseed oil or linseed oil) reduced hypertension development in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) compared with control SHR fed on a regular rat chow. The effect was most markedly expressed in the 3rd and 4th generations of a four generation feeding period. PGI2-like production from isolated, pulsatingly perfused aorta preparations was reduced in linseed oil but not in sunflowerseed oil fed rats. Effects on blood pressure and PGI2-like production were abolished when the semisynthetic diets were changed for regular chow (5th and 6th generations).