Cereal Chem 66:19-22   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Lipidemic Responses in Rats Fed Biscuits Made with Fish Oil.

G. S. Ranhotra and J. A. Gelroth. Copyright 1989 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

In an eight-week experiment, young hypercholesterolemic rats were fed diets that differed widely in the content of omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids but contained the same level of fat. Fat provided 30% of the total calories. Omega-3s in the diet originated from biscuits made with fish oil. The objective was to determine the n-6:n-3 ratio that modified the blood lipid profile most favorably. This was observed in the diet with an n-6:n-3 ratio of 1:0.7 (n-6, 1.93 g; n-3, 1.39 g/100 g). This diet caused a time- dependent reduction of serum total cholesterol. By week 8, serum triglyceride levels were also significantly lower on this diet, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased steadily with the level of fish oil in the diet.