Differential impact of milk fatty acid profiles on cardiovascular risk biomarkers in healthy men and women

International audience

anglais. Objectives: to evaluate the impact of three specific ruminant (R) milk fats resulting from modification of the cow's diet on cardiovascular risk factors in healthy volunteers. R-milk fats were characterized by increased content in total trans fatty acids (R-TFA) and parallel decrease in saturated fatty acids (SFA). Methods: 111 healthy, normolipemic men and women have been recruited for a monocentric, randomised, double-blind, and parallel intervention, 4-week controlled study. Volunteers consumed 3 experimental products (butter, dessert cream and cookies) made with one of the 3 specific milk fats (55 g fat/day). During the first week (run-in period), the subjects consumed on a daily basis dairy products containing 72% SFA/2.85% R-TFA (called "L0"). For the next 3 weeks of the study (intervention period), the first group continued to consume L0 products. The second group received dairy products containing 63.3% SFA/4.06% R-TFA (called "L4"), and the third group received dairy products containing 56.6% SFA/12.16% R-TFA (called "L9"). Results: plasma concentrations of HDL-cholesterol was not significantly altered by either diet (p = 0.38). Compared to L0 diet, L4 diet contributed to reduce LDL-cholesterol (-0.140.38 mmol/L, p= 0.04), total cholesterol (-0.130.50 mmol/L, p = 0.04), LDL-cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol (-0.140.36, p = 0.03) and total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol (-0.180.44, p = 0.02). Conclusion: different milk fat profiles can change cardiovascular plasma parameters in human healthy volunteers. A limited increase of the R-TFA/SFA ratio in dairy products is associated with an improvement in some cardiovascular risk factors. However, a further increase in R-TFA/SFA ratio has no additional benefit.