Protective effect of dietary apricot kernel oil supplementation on cholesterol levels and antioxidant status of liver in hypercholesteremic rats

Apricot kernel oil is a rich source of MUFA and PUFA, including mainly oleic (about 70%) and linoleic acids, respectively. In addition, apricot kernel oil could be considered as a good source of bioactive compounds such as tocopherols and phytosterols consisting mainly of the γ-isomer and βsitosterol, respectively. Given to its high content of oleic acid, apricot kernel oil is considered as a healthy supplement in diet. In the present study, we investigated the effects of apricot kernel oil supplementation on cholesterol and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) activity in hypercholesteremic rats. Hypercholesteremia was produced by feeding rats with a semisynthetic diet that contained high cholesterol and cholic acid. A high cholesterol diet caused a decrease in CAT and GPx activity, while apricot kernel oil caused a significant activity increase of these enzymes (P < 0.05). The group fed with apricot kernel oil supplementation showed higher enzyme activities than sunflower oil groups irrespective of cholesterol (P < 0.05). Results of the present study indicate that apricot kernel oil causes improvement in liver antioxidant status of rats in comparison to sunflower oil which is a commonly consumed vegetable oil.