In this five-week feeding study male New Zealand rabbits were
fed diets containing cyclopropene fatty acids (CPFA), diets containing
cholesterol, and diets with both CPFA and cholesterol added to test
the effect of CPFA on cholesterol metabolism and atherosclerosis
induction. When CPFA-fed animals were compared with control
animals, they tended to have higher plasma cholesterol levels, higher
liver cholesterol levels and a high incidence of aortic atherosclerosis.
Control animals had no atherosclerosis. A similar pattern was seen
when animals fed cholesterol were compared with those fed both
cholesterol and CPFA. Mean triglyceride levels were higher in
CPFA-fed rabbits than in controls.
A wide range of sensitivity to the CPFA was observed. Some
animals had plasma cholesterol levels eight to ten times normal after
three weeks of feeding; others showed only slight changes after five weeks. Histological examination of liver cells from CPFA-fed animals
showed evidence of alteration in cellular morphology and, in some
cases, extensive damage. In some liver cells of CPFA-fed rabbits,
subcellular organelles appear to be aligned in fiber-like structures.
The most extreme signs of toxicity were noted in livers of rabbits fed
CPFA and cholesterol.
After five weeks on experimental diets, adipose tissue of the
rabbits contained approximately 2% CPFA. Ratios of 16:0 to 16:1 and
18:0 to 18:1 fatty acids increased in liver lipid and erythrocyte ghost
lipid after CPFA feeding. Over the five-week study there were no
differences in rate of weight gain or in feed conversion ratios in
CPFA-fed animals. / Graduation date: 1974
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/26950 |
| Date | 01 April 1974 |
| Creators | Ferguson, Thomas Lyle |
| Contributors | Lee, D. J. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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