No abstract

The effects of a diet containing soybean oil (SBO), rice bran oil (RBO), palm oil (PO) or a RBO/PO (3:1) mixture on the composition and oxidation of small dense low-density lipoproteins (sdLDL) in 16 hypercholesterolaemic women were investigated. During the 8-week control period, participants consumed a free-choice weight-maintaining diet comprising carbohydrate (55% energy), protein (15% energy) and fat (30% energy) with < 300 mg/day of cholesterol. During each 10-week study period, participants consumed this same diet but with the addition of one of the three test oils or the RBO/PO mixture. Total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels were significantly reduced during SBO, RBO and RBO/PO consumption, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly decreased by SBO consumption. There was a significant reduction in sdLDL-cholesterol levels only after using SBO and it tended to be reduced during RBO/PO consumption, whereas it was significantly increased following PO consumption. The sdLDL oxidation lag time was significantly increased during PO, RBO/PO and RBO consumption, but significantly reduced following SBO. The results for the RBO/PO mixture suggest that this oil mixture might further reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.

This study was to determine antioxidant capacity, total phenolics and sugar content of 12 pasteurized and sterilized Thai health beverages, products of The Royal Chitralada Projects. The antioxidant capacities were analyzed using 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging and the photochemiluminescence (PCL) assay. Folin-Ciocalteu assay and Nelson's reducing sugar test were used to determine total phenolic compounds and sugar contents, respectively. Sacred lotus root drink showed the significantly highest antioxidant capacity in both equivalents to trolox and equivalents to ascorbic acid but not in the PCL test. In contrast, chrysanthemum drink and roselle drink showed the significantly highest values of both the total antioxidant capacity of water and lipid-soluble substances in the PCL assay. Bael fruit drink had the significantly highest total phenolic compounds. There were significant correlations between the total phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity values of both assays (r = 0.4-0.5).