THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF RAPESEED OIL ON WEIGHT GAIN, AND OF GOLDEN RAPESEED OIL ON REPRODUCTION, OF THE RAT

Abstract

Rapeseed oil of the Polish, Golden, or Swedish varieties, corn oil, or mixtures of corn oil and ethyl erucate were fed to weanling rats of the Wistar strain for 9 weeks. Weight gains were inversely related to the content of erucic acid in the diet, confirming previous indications that the growth retarding effect of rapeseed oil is due to its erucic acid. In general, the differences in weight gains could be explained by the effect of rapeseed oil on food consumption.Golden rapeseed oil and corn oil were compared in a reproduction study involving three litters of one generation. Although the young of rats fed rapeseed oil were of lesser weanling weight, there was no difference in the number of animals successfully weaned.