The Effect of Fat Level of the Diet on General Nutrition XIV. Further Studies of the Effect of Hydrogenated Coconut Oil on Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency in the Rat

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Abstract
The effect of the addition of hydrogenated coconut oil to the otherwise fat-free diets of rats has resulted in the depletion of essential fatty acids in a shorter time interval and at a lower animal weight than when the rats were fed a fat-free diet alone. However, the continued presence of hydrogenated coconut oil in the diet had no apparent inhibitory effect on the subsequent response of the animal to linoleate although the animals depleted with hydrogenated coconut oil in the diet had a greater growth potential than the animals depleted on the fat-free diet. In rats receiving diets deficient in essential fatty acids, there was an increased cholesterol concentration in the liver and a decreased cholesterol content in the plasma after one week. However, although the condition was further aggravated thereafter in the animals on the fat-free diets, cholesterol levels of the rats receiving hydrogenated coconut oil in the diets gradually returned to normal. This effect may be due to the availability of short-chain fatty acids contained in the hydrogenated fat for esterification of cholesterol.