Effects of consuming toxic oils and oleoanilides on fat digestibility and adipose tissue composition of rats

Effects of thermally processed oil on weight loss in rats

We have previously proposed that thermally processed oil holds promise as a dietary supplement intended for weight loss. We employed a thermal process whereby oil was heated to 180 degrees C for 10 h in the absence and presence of gluten. We compared the effects of three diets, untreated oil, heated oil, heated oil and gluten on body weight, retroperitoneal weight and lipid composition and fecal lipid contents. Ten week-old male Wistar rats were fed ad libitum a diet containing 7 wt% of the oil for 12 weeks. The oil heated with gluten showed low levels of food efficiency and oil absorption ratios, and high levels of fecal oil excretion, oil content and bile acid content. Diets containing thermally treated oils resulted in significantly lower retroperitoneal tissue weights and lipid contents as compared to the control group; the groups fed the heated oil and gluten diets showed a general decrease in the fatty acid (especially linoleic acid) amount. In conclusion, oil heated with gluten was not fully digested and thus excreted without showing any detrimental effects on either the organs or feces. This resulted in safe and effective weight loss in growing adult rats.

Dietary sandalwood seed oil modifies fatty acid composition of mouse adipose tissue, brain, and liver

Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) seed oil, which occurs to about 50% of the weight of the seed kernels, contains 30-35% of total fatty acids (FA) as ximenynic acid (XMYA). This study was designed to obtain basic information on changes in tissue FA composition and on the metabolic fate of XMYA in mice fed a sandalwood seed oil (SWSO)-enriched diet. Female mice were randomly divided into three groups, each receiving different semisynthetic diets containing 5.2% (w/w) fat (standard laboratory diet), 15% canola oil, or 15% SWSO for 8 wk. The effects of SWSO as a dietary fat on the FA composition of adipose tissue, brain, and liver lipids were determined by analyses of FA methyl ester derivatives of extracted total lipid. The FA compositions of the liver and adipose tissue were markedly altered by the dietary fats, and mice fed on a SWSO-enriched diet were found to contain XMYA but only in low concentration (0.3-3%) in these tissues; XMYA was not detected in brain. Oleic acid was suggested to be a principal XMYA biotransformation product. The results were interpreted to suggest that the metabolism of XMYA may involve both biohydrogenation and oxidation reactions.

Fatty acid conjugates of xenobiotics

In this review, we discuss the formation and toxicity of fatty acid conjugates of xenobiotics. Conjugates formed in vivo and in vitro and those detected as contaminants are reviewed. Due to the lipophilic nature of these conjugates, they may accumulate in various body organs and cause toxic manifestations. In vivo formation of these fatty acid conjugates appears to be catalyzed by enzyme(s). Fatty acid ethyl esters are the most widely studied esters and have been implicated in the onset or pathogenesis of myocardial and pancreatic diseases in alcoholics. In experimental animals, studies on 2-chloroethyl linoleate, palmitoylpentachlorophenol and oleoyl and linoleoyl anilides clearly indicate that lipid conjugates of xenobiotics are involved in target organ toxicity. These findings warrant further detailed studies to isolate and identify other fatty acid conjugates and to evaluate their toxicity. Thorough toxicokinetic and metabolic studies are also needed to identify putative toxic agents. Identifying these agents could help in understanding the mechanism of pathogenesis associated with lipid conjugation. Finally fatty acid conjugates of drugs (prodrugs), have been shown to have increased half-lives and long-lasting dose-response. Thus these conjugates may be useful for enhancing the therapeutic potential of drugs and should be explored further.

Rates of utilization of intravenous oleylanilide administered chronically to the rat

The constant injection of [14C]oleylanilide into the vena cava of Wistar rats for 7 days with osmotic minipumps was used to estimate tissue distribution of chronically administered anilides. The largest concentrations of the anilide were found in the brown adipose tissue; all other tissues showed much lower proportions. When anilide distribution was expressed as nmol/g lipid, the high concentration of the compound in the brown adipose tissue contrasted with its very low presence in the white adipose tissue; all other tissues showed intermediate concentrations. Anilide-treated rats consumed more food and lost more weight than did controls; their energy balance showed higher energy inefficiency. The results suggest a possible effect of anilides on the thermogenic pathway of the rat brown adipose tissue. In addition, there was a large individual variability in the proportions of anilide present in all tissues, from as little as 0.3% of the total anilide injected in some animals to 6% in others.