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Short-term diets enriched in stearic or palmitic acids do not alter plasma lipids, platelet aggregation or platelet activation status

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 56, pages 490–499 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether healthy males who consumed increased amounts of dietary stearic acid compared with increased dietary palmitic acid through the consumption of commercially available foods, exhibited any changes in plasma lipids, platelet aggregation or platelet activation status.

Design: A randomised cross-over dietary intervention.

Subjects and interventions: Nine free-living healthy males consumed two experimental diets (stearic acid enriched, diet S, and palmitic acid enriched, diet P) for 3 weeks in a randomised cross-over design separated by a 3 week washout phase. The diets consisted of ∼30% of energy as fat (30% of which was derived from the treatment diets) providing ∼13 g/day as stearic acid and 17 g/day as palmitic acid on diet S and ∼7 g/day as stearic acid and 22 g/day as palmitic acid on diet P. The dietary ratio of stearic to palmitic acids was 0.76 on diet S compared with 0.31 on diet P. Blood samples were collected on days 0 and 21 of each dietary period.

Results: LDL cholesterol levels and platelet aggregation response to the agonist ADP were significantly decreased (P<0.025) in subjects on diet S compared with day 0. Apart from that, there were no significant changes in plasma lipids, platelet aggregation, mean platelet volume and platelet reactivity between diets. There were no significant changes in stearic or palmitic acid levels in plasma phospholipid or triacylglycerol. There was a significant difference in palmitic acid levels in platelet phospholipids between the two diets.

Conclusions: Use of commonly available foods led to a 27% increase in stearic acid (diet S) and a 19% increase in palmitic acid (diet P), on diets S and P respectively, and no significant differences between the two diets in plasma lipoprotein concentrations, platelet aggregation or platelet activation status.

Sponsorship: Grant and chocolate donated from Effem Foods, Pty Ltd, Australia.

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Acknowledgements

M Francis, S Dingey and P Camilleri provided technical assistance. We gratefully acknowledge Dr Gerald R Elsworth from the Centre for Program Evaluation, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia for advice on the statistical analysis of the data.

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Author notes

  1. AJ Sinclair: Guarantor: AJ Sinclair.

  2. FD Kelly, AJ Sinclair, NJ Mann, AH Turner, FL Raffin, MV Blandford and MJ Pike: Contributors: FDK, AJS, NJM, AHT and MJP initiated the study. FDK prepared the drafts of the paper, did dietary analysis, collected data, helped in laboratory assays and did the statistical analysis. AJS selected the study site, supervised the project and secured the funding. FLR and MVB helped in laboratory assays. All authors contributed to the drafts of the paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    FD Kelly, AJ Sinclair & NJ Mann

  2. School of Medical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    AH Turner, FL Raffin, MV Blandford & MJ Pike

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  1. FD Kelly
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Correspondence to AJ Sinclair.

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Kelly, F., Sinclair, A., Mann, N. et al. Short-term diets enriched in stearic or palmitic acids do not alter plasma lipids, platelet aggregation or platelet activation status. Eur J Clin Nutr 56, 490–499 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601332

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