Influence of Diets Containing Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil or Hydrogenated Coconut Oil on the Immune Response of Mice.

Abstract

The effect of diets containing olive oil, sunflower oil or hydrogenated coconut oil on immune cell function was investigated. Lipid administration in assays in vitro as well as in the diet has been demonstrated that affect to lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine synthesis, natural killer (NK) cell activity and antigen presentation. Therefore, unsaturated fatty acids may be used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases due to their immunomodulatory properties. Three groups of Balb/c mice were fed three diets at various times for 5, 15, 30, 60, or 90 days. Diets were different for each group, as each contained 15wt% olive oil, sunflower oil or hydrogenated coconut oil. The number of splenic cells showed significant differences with respect to the type of dietary lipid and the time of dietary administration. At the end of dietary lipid supplementation mitogen-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation from the spleens of mice fed diets that contained olive oil or hydrogenated coconut oil was significantly higher than that of mice fed diet that contained sunflower oil in which mitogen-stimulated proliferation of lymphocytes decreased lightly. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) production was significantly higher in mice fed the olive oil-or sunflower oil-enriched diets for 90 days when compared with that of mice fed the diet containing hydrogenated coconut oil. Dietary lipid manipulation also modified NK cell activity, since the results obtained showed a significant difference between the NK cell activity of mice fed the diet that contained olive oil and that observed in the mice fed the diet containing hydrogenated coconut oil. The results demonstrate that the addition to the diet of unsaturated fatty acids for different times may play an important role as a modulatory agent of immune cell function.