Changes in vascular endothelial function and blood lipid levels in young healthy volunteers receiving diets with different amounts of palm oil versus butter
Aim: to evaluate changes in vascular endothelial function and blood lipid levels in young healthy volunteers receiving diets with different amounts of palm oil versus butter. Patients and Methods: the study included young healthy individuals (n=137), 20.1±0.6 years old, who were divided into 5 groups: receiving a regular diet - control group (CG) (n=34), receiving 25 grams of palm oil (PM) - GO (n=32), 25 grams of butter - GS (n=30), 15 grams of PM -GO-1 (n=20) and 7.5 grams of PM-GO-2 (n=21). The observation period was 12 weeks. Results: after 12 weeks of the study, the endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDV) became significantly worse in the GS and GO volunteers compared with that at the baseline. The highest rate of EDV decline was observed in the GO group, but it did not significantly differ from that in the GS volunteers. Endothelium disfunction (ED) was found in 96% of the GO and GS group subjects, and in 55% of the CG subjects (p=0.028). Total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels increased vs their baseline values in the GO and GS groups. LDL-C level in the GO-1 group individuals was higher than that in the CG individuals. After 12 weeks of the follow-up the highest increase in TC and LDL-C levels occurred in the GO group volunteers. The level of triglycerides did not change in the groups which received an excessive amount of palm oil and butter (p>0.05). In the GO-1 subjects a negative correlation was revealed between TC level and EDV. Based on the regression analysis, a dose-dependent relationship was found between the differentiated daily consumption of palm oil and the lipid panel. Conclusion: an excessive daily consumption (25 g) of butter and palm oil during 12 weeks by healthy volunteers contributed to the deterioration of EDV and to the increase in TH, LDL-C and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. In the GO-1 subjects who consumed 15 g of palm oil every day, a negative correlation was found between the TC level and EDV which can be considered as a risk factor of ED development.