Total cholesterol and its fractions in the blood of finishing pigs fed diets with diff erent levels of canola oil

Abstract

Pork is an important source of protein and the most widely consumed meat throughout the world. Besides, search for healthy food over the years has been growing, which has stimulated research to improve animal health and consequently, the quality of the final product offered to consumers. People know that who eats a high-fat diet has greater risk of developing metabolism changes, such as high cholesterol levels and consequently, cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. Studies focusing handling of these lipid food components, both quantitative and qualitatively, can significantly contribute to increase acceptability of animal products by consumers because it can generate knowledge to produce meat with less cholesterol. Among the different cooking oils that can be used in animal feed, the canola oil has drawn the attention of researchers due to its high unsaturated fatty acid contents. The hypothesis is that canola oil modifies the plasmatic profile of the lipoproteins because -linolenic acid (n-3) interfere the good functioning of LDL cholesterol (LDLc) receptors, i.e. interferes in the cholesterol turnover. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of different levels of canola oil as sources of poly-unsaturated fats on modulation of total cholesterol and its fractions in the blood of pigs weighing 70 to 100 kg. Materials, Methods and Resul