Effects of various oils and of starvation on the lipid metabolism in brain.

In this study the effects of the dietary fat sources, viz., Dalda, mustard oil and groundnut oil in the brain lipid metabolism during starvation has been investigated. To find out this, these oils were fed to albino rats for 8 weeks followed by 3 and 5 days of starvation. Total as well as galactolipids of brain were not affected by dietary oils and starvation, whereas phospholipids of brain were significantly increased by fasting irrespective of the dietary fats. On the other hand, cholesterol was found to be increased in the groups fed with Dalda and groundnut oil and to be significantly decreased during fasting experiments. Incorporation of (1-14C)acetate into lipid of the brain slices of rats fed different experimental diets than followed by starvation revealed that the uptake of radioactivity was higher in the group fed with groundnut oil, followed by Dalda. Low uptake was observed in the group fed with mustard oil.