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Canola oil decreases cholesterol and improves endothelial function in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease — a pilot study

Artery Research volume 2, pages 67–73 (2008)Cite this article

Summary

Background

Dietary supplementation with omega-3 PUFAs has been shown to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This pilot study investigated the effects of supplementation with plant-derived omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs in patients with atherosclerosis.

Methods

Forty patients with PAD supplemented their usual diet with 2 tablespoons/day of canola oil (n = 20) or sunflower oil (n = 20), containing 2.24 g of a-linolenic acid or 16.24 g of linoleic acid, respectively, for 8 weeks. Laser Doppler flux (LDF), was assessed at rest and during reactive hyperaemia. Other measurements included parameters of heart rate variability (HRV), markers of plasmatic coagulation, fibrinolysis, platelet activation, inflammation, and lipid and homocysteine levels.

Results

Despite randomization, baseline values for LDF and HRV differed between the two groups. LDL-cholesterol decreased (from 2.74 ± 0.73 to 2.42 ± 0.65 mmol/L, p = 0.007) with canola oil but not with sunflower oil. The difference in the percent increase of LDF after ischemic challenge increased with canola oil from a median (25th; 75th percentiles) of 75.2% (48.6; 161.2) to 151.7% (117.8; 260.0) (p = 0.008) and with sunflower oil from 157.9% (125.4; 229.8) to 178.6% (127.3; 356.3) (p = 0.03), whereas a control group did show no change. HRV and other markers did not change.

Conclusions

Canola oil containing omega-3 PUFAs may confer cardiovascular protection by improving endothelial function and lowering LDL-cholesterol, but additional studies are warranted.

Abbreviations

%RR50:

the percent difference between adjacent RR intervals that were greater than 50 msec

ALA:

α-linolenic acid

DHA:

docosapentaneoic acid

DD:

D-dimers

EPA:

eicosapentaneoic acid

F1 + 2:

prothrombin fragment 1 + 2

FMD:

flow-mediated dilation

GISSI:

gruppo italiano per lo studio della sopravvivenza nell’infarto miocardio

LA:

linoleic acid

LDF:

laser Doppler flow

NO:

nitric oxide

PAD:

peripheral artery occlusive disease

PAI-1:

plasminogen activator inhibitor-1

PUFA:

polyunsaturated fatty acid

rmsSD:

the square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent RR intervals

SDANN:

the standard deviation of the normal RR intervals averaged over 5 min intervals during the monitoring period

SDNN:

the standard deviation of all normal RR intervals observed over the monitoring period

TAT:

thombin-antithrombin complex

t-PA:

tissue-type plasminogen activator

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Ospedale La Carità, Via all’Ospedale, CH-6600, Locarno, Switzerland

    Hans Stricker, Francesca Duchini, Marco Facchini & Giorgio Mombelli

Authors
  1. Hans Stricker
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  2. Francesca Duchini
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  3. Marco Facchini
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  4. Giorgio Mombelli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hans Stricker.

Additional information

Funding Sources: The study was partly funded by the Fondo Balli, Locarno, Switzerland.

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This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license. https://doi.org/creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Stricker, H., Duchini, F., Facchini, M. et al. Canola oil decreases cholesterol and improves endothelial function in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease — a pilot study. Artery Res 2, 67–73 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2008.02.001

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Artery Research

ISSN: 1876-4401

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