Effects of Mild Ingestion of Used Fried Rapeseed Oil (Mustard Oil) on Hepatic Tissues in Long-Evans Rats

Introduction The traditional type is high erucic acid rapeseed (HEAR), generally used for cooking in countries like India and Bangladesh, typically contains between 40% and 50 % erucic acid, a monounsaturated omega-9fatty acid, denoted 22:1 ω-9 has undesirable effects on healthspecially on cardiac tissue (Kramer et al., 1982). The normal level of AST, ALT and ALP in rat blood is 45.7-80.8 U/L, 17.5-30.2 U/L, and 56.8-128 U/L respectively(Johnson-Delaney C, 1996).AST and ALT are generally considered a measure of hepatocellular function. ALP levels are increased during obstruction of the biliary duct system (Ahmad NZ, 2011). Hepatocellular injury, in which the primary injury occurs to the hepatocytes, Cholestatic injury where the primary injury is to the bile ducts (Esfehet al., 2011). Liver damage, as reflected by the serum concentrations of the enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate amino -transferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) (Folwaczny, 2007; Moussavianet al., 1985). ALT and AST are normally concentrated in the hepatocytes and thus, when present in the serum in elevated concentrations, are markers of liver cell injury. The serum levels of these enzymes start to increase within a few hours of liver cell injury as they leak out of the cells via the damaged cell membrane. AST is less liver-specific than ALT, since AST levels can be elevated not only in liver injury but also in muscle, cardiac, and red blood cell injury (Lepper and Dufour, 2009).Alkaline phosphatase is actually a heterogeneous group of enzymes found mainly in liver and bone cells. Hepatic alkaline phosphatase is concentrated near the biliary canalicular membrane of the hepatocyte. Accordingly, increased levels of hepatic alkaline phosphatase are mainly seen in liver diseases that predominantly affect the biliary system (Aragon and Younossi, 2010). Some European countries have already banned the consumption of mustard oil regarding high erucic acid contents of mustard oil. This is a matter of great concern. The poor illiterate villagers even many literate people of urban area of Bangladesh know little about this oil. That’s why they used to consume mustard oil without any hesitation. Few researchers worked on fatty acid composition of mustard and its effect on cardiac tissue but rare initiative has been taken about its toxicity on hepatic tissue. Considering the facts, the authors’ plans to investigate the effect of consumption of rapeseed oil (mustard oil) on hepatic tissues in LongEvans rats. Effects of Mild Ingestion of Used Fried Rapeseed Oil (Mustard Oil) on Hepatic Tissues in Long-Evans Rats