Effects of a dairy product (pecorino cheese) naturall rich in cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid on lipid, inflammatory and haemorheologicalvariables: A dietary intervention study

Some studies recently reported a favourable effect for cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on plasma lipoprotein profile of healthy subjects. Aim of this crossover intervention study was to evaluate the influence of a short-term dietary intake of a cheese derived from sheep’s milk naturally rich in CLA on several atherosclerotic biomarkers, in comparison with a commercially available cheese. Ten subjects (6 F; 4 M) with a median age of 51.5 followed for 10 weeks a diet containing 200 g/week of cheese naturally rich in CLA (intervention period ) and for the same period a diet containing a commercially available cheese of the same quantity (placebo period ). Consumption of the dairy product naturally rich in cis-9, trans-11 CLA determined a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in inflammatory parameters such as interleukin-6 (pre: 8.08 1.57 vs. post: 4.58 0.94 pg/mL), interleukin-8 (pre: 45.02 5.82 vs. post: 28.59 2.64 pg/mL), and tumour necrosis factor-a (pre: 53.58 25.6