Alteration in lipid metabolism induced by a diet rich in soya-oil and amylopectin in a rat model

This present study was designed to evaluate the impact of different dietary regimens on lipid metabolism in brain, liver and plasma of albino rat model. Twenty (20) male Wister albino rats (110 g) were assigned to two dietary groups and housed individually. One group received a control diet enriched in 20% soy- oil and another enriched with 20% amylopectin. The starved group was fed primarily with carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC). Daily growth rate and average condition factor of each group was monitored for 14 days. Lipid profiles of brain, liver and plasma were analyzed by colorimetric, immunological, thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Elevated serum total cholesterol was indicated in rats of starved, oil fed and starch fed rats by factors of 0.40, 0.65 and 0.75 mmol/L respectively when compared with the control. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was 0.9, 1.1 and 0.95 mmol/L higher in starved, oil fed and starch fed rat groups, respectively when compared with the control group. Alteration in feeding pattern revealed a marked decrease in the levels of the steroidal sex hormones in the starved and other dietary groups compared to the control. Hepatic and liver lipid profile revealed the polar lipids tentatively identified altered expression of diphosphatidyl glycerol, phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl serine, and cholesterol in order of decreasing polarity. GC-MS results showed a shift in the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids in the test groups. Lauric acid was observed to be predominantly present in the starved group.Keywords: Lipid metabolism, soy-oil, steroidal hormones, liver lipid, serum lipoproteinsAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(37), pp. 5599-560