Consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-enriched eggs and changes in plasma lipids of human subjects.

The cholesterolemic effect of chicken eggs enriched with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was investigated in healthy volunteers. Twenty-three male university students consumed two regular or n-3 PUFA-enriched eggs per day with their habitual diet for 18 days. Plasma total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were raised in subjects who consumed regular eggs but were maintained virtually unchanged in those who consumed n-3 PUFA-enriched eggs. Intake of two regular eggs a day did not affect plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and plasma triglyceride (TG) levels, but intake of two n-3 PUFA-enriched eggs a day resulted in a significant elevation in HDL-C (p < 0.05) and a reduction in plasma TG (p < 0.01). Consuming regular eggs tended to decrease both HDL-C/TC and HDL-C/LDL-C ratios, whereas consuming n-3-enriched eggs tended to increase them. The n-3 PUFA contents in plasma lipids of subjects who consumed n-3 PUFA-enriched eggs were also found to be elevated. These results demonstrate that the cholesterolemic property of chicken eggs can be modified by altering the fatty acid composition of yolk lipids.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes