Comparison of palm and mixtures of refined palm and soybean oils on serum lipids and fecal fat and fatty acid excretions of adult humans.

The effects of palm (P) and mixtures of palm and soybean (PS), palmolein and soybean (POS), palmstearin and soybean (PSS) oils on serum lipids and fecal fat and fatty acid excretions of humans were studied. Each oil was the dominant fat in diets consumed by ten normolipidemic live-in individuals. Test diets were assigned by randomization. All four diets had a similar influence on total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), triglycerides (TG) and phospholipids (PL). Fecal fat excretion was higher (1.81, 1.80 g/d) with PS and PSS and lower (1.78, 1.42 g/d) with P and POS diets. Excretions of palmitic (C16: 0), oleic (C18: 1), and linoleic (C 18: 2) acids were similar for all diets. Excretions of stearic acid (C 18: 0) were higher when feeding POS and PSS, and lower with feeding P and PS; the changes were statistically significant at p <0.05. More linolenic acid (C18: 3) was excreted when P was fed compared to the feeding of PS, POS, and PSS. Changes in linolenic acid excretion between P and POS were statistically significant at p <0.05. It was concluded that there were no significant differences in serum lipid concentrations due to feeding palm or any of the refined palm and soybean oil mixtures. However, a significant difference was found in C18: 0 excretions with feeding POS and PSS compared to when P and PS were fed. Similarly, significant C18: 3 excretion was found with feeding P compared to when POS was fed.