Plasma lipids of golden Syrian hamsters fed dietary rose hip, sunflower, olive and coconut oils.

Plasma lipids of male golden Syrian hamsters fed diets supplemented with 15% (w/w) rose hip, sunflower, olive, or coconut oils during four weeks were assessed. The results confirm the saturated fat hyperlipidemic effect on golden Syrian hamsters fed with the olive oil and coconut oil, reaching the highest triglyceride levels. The monounsaturated (olive oil) or polyunsaturated (rose hip and sunflower oils) fatty acid-rich-vegetable oils have a similar action on the HDL-cholesterol. No statistically significant difference was observed for total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride plasma levels in the rose hip and sunflower groups, showing that the polyunsaturation degree of both oils does not affect those results. Compared with the plasma levels obtained in the olive and coconut oil groups, rose hip and sunflower oils present a marked hypolipidemic effect, which could be due to specific action of the series n-6 linoleic acid.