Effect of dietary lipids on composition and glucose utilization by rat adipose tissue

Feeding rats diets rich in either safflower oil or coconut oil resulted in a significant change in the lipid composition of epididymal fat pads as compared with those obtained from rats fed a commercial stock diet. A safflower oil diet resulted in an increase in tissue cholesterol and a decrease in phospholipid concentration as compared with the stock diet. A coconut oil diet resulted in a decrease in both tissue cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations as compared with the stock diet. Adipose tissue fatty acid composition was also altered due to these dietary manipulations. Glucose utilization by adipose tissue from animals fed the safflower oil diet was 2 and 10 times greater than glucose utilization by adipose tissue from animals fed the stock and coconut oil diets, respectively. The coconut oil diet resulted in an increase in the percentage of glucose incorporated into adipose tissue diglycerides, free fatty acids and cholesterol esters and a decrease in the percentage of glucose incorporated into triglycerides as compared with animals fed the stock or safflower oil diet. The incorporation of glucose into adipose tissue fatty acids was depressed by a saturated fatty acid diet as compared with either a polyunsaturated fatty acid diet or the stock diet.