摘要:The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of intake of processed cheeses
containing different types of fats on plasma lipid profile and lipid peroxidation using
hypercholesterolemic rats as an experimental model. This study included three types of processed
cheeses: the first two contained vegetable oils and the third contained milk fat only. Five groups of
rats (8 animals each) were fed balanced diet (normal), hypercholesterolemic diet (control), and
hypercholesterolemic diet containing one of the tested processed cheeses, respectively, for 8 weeks.
The body weight and the food intake were recorded and the gain in body weight and food efficiency
ratio were also calculated. Blood analysis was carried out at the end of the experiment for total
lipids and cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides, and
plasma malondialdehyde. Feeding the different processed cheeses with hypercholesterolemic diet
showed variable reductions in the plasma lipids, except for HDL, which was increased as compared
to control. The highest and significant reduction was observed in the group that received processed
cheese containing milk fat only. Also, this group showed significant reduction in lipid peroxidation.
These results suggest that consumption of processed cheeses may improve the markers of
cardiovascular diseases, particularly processed cheeses containing milk fat only. Further studies on
human subjects are needed to verify the present results and to elucidate the possible mechanisms
behind the differential effects on serum cholesterol of cheeses containing different types of fats.