Ratio of oleic to palmitic acid is a dietary determinant of thrombogenic and fibrinolytic factors during the postprandial state in men.

BACKGROUND

The nature of dietary fats affects the postprandial activation of the hemostatic system.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated whether the ratio of oleic to palmitic acid [and that of monounsaturated to saturated fatty acids (MUFA:SFA)] in the diet affects postprandial concentrations of triacylglycerols, tissue factor (TF), fibrinogen, tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1).

DESIGN

We studied the effects of diets enriched in olive oil (ROO), high-palmitic sunflower oil (HPSO), butter, or a mixture of vegetable and fish oils (VEFO) on circulating concentrations of the aforementioned factors in 14 healthy men. The fats had ratios of oleic to palmitic acid (MUFA:SFA) of 6.83 (5.43), 2.36 (2.42), 0.82 (0.48), and 13.81 (7.08).

RESULTS

The largest and longest-lasting postprandial changes in plasma triacylglycerol concentrations were found with the butter-based diet (all P < 0.05). No correlation was observed between the net incremental area under the curve (netAUC) for triacylglycerol and the ratio of oleic to palmitic acid (or MUFA:SFA) in the dietary fats. The netAUCs for TF and PAI-1, however, were inversely related to the ratio of oleic to palmitic acid (and MUFA:SFA) in ROO, HPSO, butter, and VEFO. Similar results were found for the fibrinogen netAUC when VEFO was omitted from the analysis. The netAUC for t-PA was inversely correlated with postprandial concentrations of triacylglycerol.

CONCLUSIONS

Postprandial concentrations of TF, fibrinogen, and PAI-1 are associated with the ratio of oleic to palmitic acid (MUFA:SFA) in dietary fats. The postprandial t-PA response is related to postprandial concentrations of triacylglycerol.