Effect of dietary safflower phospholipid on plasma and liver lipids in rats fed a hypercholesterolemic diet

The effect of safflower phospholipid (SP) on plasma and liver lipids in rats fed a hypercholesterolemic diet was examined. Triglyceride mixture (SPO) of safflower oil and palm oil (8:2) containing almost comparable amounts of linoleic acid to safflower phospholipid was used as a control diet. Similarly, the effect of paste safflower phospholipid (PSP) which contains approximately 45% of neutral lipid was also compared to safflower oil (SO). Concentrations of total cholesterol in plasma and liver of rats fed the SP diet were markedly decreased in comparison with those of the other diets, but a slight reduction of total cholesterol in plasma and liver was observed in rats fed PSP diet. SP and PSP induced a reduction in the plasma level of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol as well as an increase in the level of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The activity of plasma lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) was greatly increased in rats fed SP diet. These results suggest that the safflower phospholipids suppress the elevation of plasma and liver cholesterol and that this effect may depend on the phospholipid content in dietary lipid.