Corn Oil and Hypercholesteremic Response in the Cholesterol-Fed Chick.

Abstract

The high plasma cholesterol induced in cockerels by 6 weeks of feeding 1% cholesterol and 10% cottonseed oil (988 mg%) was significantly reduced (659 mg%) by substituting corn oil for the fat vehicle. When distilled fatty acids of cottonseed oil were fractionated, reconstituted and supplemented with 0.1% myristic acid to resemble the proportions in corn oil, no such difference was obtained. By employing equivalent amounts of fat in the form of whole corn germ, expressed corn oil or hexane extracted corn oil, the 6-week plasma cholesterol levels were 251 [plus or minus] 29, 632 [plus or minus] 98, and 905 [plus or minus] 127 mg%, and the grade of aortic atherosclerosis varied accordingly. Corn oil and particularly the whole corn germ restricted the hypercholesteremic response to cholesterol feeding. This effect cannot be explained by the fatty acid composition alone.