Abstract
Rats were fed diets containing 60 cal% rapeseed oil (RSO) or sunflowerseed oil (SSO) for periods up to 64 weeks. When the animals were allowed to eat <i>ad libitum, </i>the food consumption in the RSO group was significantly lower than in the SSO group. It was shown that the RSO diet is less readily digested than the SSO diet. This is due solely to the lower digestion coefficient of the RSO and of its erucic acid fraction in particular, which can be explained by its chain length. The digestion coefficient of the non-fat calories is equal in both groups. The digestion capacity is not a limiting factor in RSO digestion. The absorbed erucic acid is almost totally metabolized. Rats fed a RSO-containing diet utilize the digested calories less efficiently than animals offered an SSO diet. Moreover, their oxygen consumption and water-vapour release are higher. It is assumed that the lower efficiency of the RSO diet is caused by a slightly uncoupled oxidative phosphorylation and a greater heat increment.
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