Effect of dietary fat composition on rat colon plasma membranes and fecal lipids

The present study was designed to examine the effect of dietary fat composition on the structure of colon mucosal plasma membranes and fecal lipids. Rats were fed a purified diet containing 14% of either highly saturated fat (beef fat or butterfat) or highly polyunsaturated oil (safflower) in addition to 2% corn oil for 4 wk. Colon mucosal membranes were prepared and examined for lipid composition and protein pattern. Saturated fatty acid feeding resulted in the loss of some protein bands from plasma membranes compared to feeding polyunsaturated fatty acids. Within the saturated fatty acid--rich fats, feeding beef fat caused a greater loss than did feeding butterfat. Dietary fat composition had no effect on membrane content of phospholipid and cholesterol. Saturated fatty acid feeding resulted in an increase in the percentage of 18:1 in plasma membrane lipids compared to feeding safflower oil. The observed changes in the structure of colon mucosal membrane of animals fed the saturated fats were associated with an increase in fecal free fatty acids. There was a 4-fold and 2-fold increase in fecal free fatty acids with feeding the beef fat and butterfat diets, respectively, compared to the safflower oil diet. Alterations in fecal bile acid and free fatty acid composition were also noticed with feeding saturated fatty acids. The results obtained suggest that feeding saturated fatty acids as the main source of fat in the diet could influence the structure of colon mucosa, and this could be mediated through fecal free fatty acids.