1993 Volume 14 Issue 3 Pages 183-193
The effect of dietary fatty acid ethyl esters on lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity was investigated in SD rats. The tested fatty acids were ethyl palmitate, ethyl oleate, and ethyl linoleate. The plasma VLDL cholesterol was higher in the ethyl palmitate and ethyl oleate groups and LDL-cholesterol was higher in the ethyl palmitate group than in the ethyl linoleate group. The LCAT activity was significantly higher in the rats fed ethyl linoleate than in those fed ethyl palmitate or ethyl oleate. The LCAT activity correlated positively with the percentage of linoleic acid in the plasma phospholipids and negatively with that of oleic acid in the same fraction. As studied with HDL substrate, the esterification rate for the diet groups was in the following order: ethyl linoleate>ethyl oleate>ethyl palmitate. Moreover, there was a negative correlation between the LCAT activity and the plasma total cholesterol level. These results suggest that dietary linoleic acid increases LCAT activity by influencing the substrate of this enzyme.
