Abstract
Rapeseed oil, a by-product of rape' belonging to the Brassica family, has been used as a cooking oil in Asia for many generations. However, its use in Europe and North America has been hampered by its toxicity. There are three health problems concerning rapeseed oil: myocardial lipidosis, myocardial necrosis, and impaired oxidative phosphorylation. The toxicity was thought to be attributed to the erucic acid content, which comprises 40-50% of the total fatty acids in the oil. This has led to the newly developed low erucic acid rapeseed (LEAR) oil (0.4 2.0%). Spanish toxic oil, which resulted in more than 800 deaths consisted, however, mostly of LEAR oils. Prediction of the safety of LEAR oils in man is thus questionable. The LEAR cultivars are high in glucosinolates. A second new type of rapeseed oil, low in both erucic acid and glucosinolates, called canola is now the major rape by-product. This review article discusses the potential factors, which could be potentially responsible for the toxicity of Spanish toxic oil.
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