Dietary fatty acids, low density lipoprotein composition and oxidation and primate atherosclerosis

Low density lipoproteins (LDL) were isolated from nonhuman primates fed isocaloric diets rich in different types of fatty acids. These diets contained 35% of calories as fat enriched in fatty acids from the following sources: lard that is rich in saturated fatty acids, safflower oil rich in oleic acid, safflower oil rich in linoleic acid and menhaden oil that is rich in n-3 fatty acids. LDL composition reflected the dietary fats. LDL were subjected to oxidation using copper ions and azobis(2-amidinopropane) x 2HCl. In general, the sensitivity of LDL to oxidation depended on both the poly-unsaturated fatty acid and vitamin E content. However, the lag times calculated for the copper ion catalyzed oxidations did not show the linear dependence on vitamin E content that was found for azobis(2-amidinopropane) catalyzed oxidation.