Effects of Fully-Hydrogenated Dietary Canola Oil on Histological Changes in the Rat Gastrointestinal Tract

Abstract

The gastrointestinal structure of male Sprague-Dawley rats was studied after 5 months of consecutive dietary manipulation with either fully-hydrogenated dietary canola oil (FH oil) or cellulose. A diet containing 15% cellulose was given to a control group, and for the FH oil diet cellulose was replaced with 10% FH oil. Light microscopy was used to examine the structural changes in the alimentary tract after these dietary manipulations. Food efficiency ratio, relative weight of the liver, and serum chemistry values did not differ between the two groups. No histological differences between the FH oil and control groups were observed. These results indicate that the histological changes induced by FH oil in the rat gastrointestinal tract are equivalent to those induced by cellulose.