A comparative study of the effects of palm olein, cocoa butter and extra virgin olive oil on lipid profile, including low-density lipoprotein subfractions in young healthy Chinese people

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of palm olein (POL), cocoa butter (CB) and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on the lipid profile and low-density lipoprotein subfractions in a young, healthy Chinese population. After screening, 72 subjects were randomly assigned to three groups, and an 18-week randomized crossover trial was conducted. The first phase was a 2-week run-in period, followed by three phases of the 4-week experimental periods with a 2-week washout period between experimental periods. Three groups of subjects alternately consumed a Chinese diet enriched with the different test oils. The various indices of subjects were collected before and after each experimental period. Sixty-seven subjects completed the study, and there were no significant differences in conventional indices amongst the three groups at the beginning of the three experimental periods (p > .05). Each test oil accounted for approximately 40% of total fat intake and approximately 11.3% of the total energy supply. After controlling for dietary interventions, only the serum triglyceride level of the POL-Diet was significantly lower than that of the EVOO-Diet (p = .034), and most indices did not significantly differ amongst the three test oil diets (p > .05). POL, CB and EVOO have almost identical effects on serum lipids.

Keywords:

• Palm olein
• cocoa butter
• extra virgin olive oil
• dietary intervention
• lipids

Acknowledgements

We would like to sincerely thank the Malaysian Palm Oil Board for helping us detect test oil composition. Moreover, we would like to express our gratitude to the university cafeteria manager, chefs and staff for their active cooperation. Finally, we appreciate every subject who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Nutrition Fund Chinese Nutrition Society (grant number 2016-01); the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant number 2242016K40024); the Research Innovation Program for College Postgraduates in Jiangsu Province (grant number SJZZ16_0036); and the National Key Project of Research and Development Plan (grant number 2016YFD0400604).