Goat Milk Fat Naturally Enriched with Conjugated Linoleic Acid Increased Lipoproteins and Reduced Triacylglycerol in Rats

Goat milk is source of different lipids, including conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA reduces body fat and protect against cardiovascular diseases. In the present study fat from goat milk naturally enriched with CLA was used. Male Wistar rats were divided into three groups that received during a 10 week diet with different lipid sources: soybean oil (CON), coconut oil (CO) and goat milk fat naturally enriched with CLA (GM-CLA). We evaluated the effects of a GM-CLA on biochemistry parameters - high density lipoprotein (HDL), triacylglycerol (TAG), TAG/HDL ratio, total cholesterol and glucose -, body weight and histopathological aspects of the intestine and liver. GM-CLA increased body weight from the second to the fifth week of the experiment compared to CON. Feed intake differed between the CON group and GM-CLA early in the first to third week of the experiments and later between the ninth and tenth week. The CLA-diet group showed increased levels of HDL, reduced levels of TAG and TAG/HDL ratio and no effect on LDL, but enhanced total cholesterol. Serum glucose of the GM-CLA group showed no difference from the control group. Thus, a GM-CLA diet promoted growth in young rats and acted as protector of cardiovascular function, but further studies are still needed to clarify these effects.