linoleic-acid and miglitol

Eleven normotensive subjects with no family history of essential hypertension took part in a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled crossover study to examine the effects of supplementing a normal omnivore diet with miglyol. This resulted in a fall in diastolic blood pressure in both the supine and standing positions, achieving statistical significance for the standing diastolic pressures, following miglyol treatment. Miglyol is rich in caprylic (8:0) and capric acids (10:0), both short chain saturated fatty acids, and supplementation with this produced a significant fall in erythrocyte membrane oleic and linoleic acid (P less than 0.01 compared to placebo for each fatty acid), as well as a fall in the saturated fat palmitic acid (16:0) (P less than 0.01). These changes were not associated with any alterations in total erythrocyte sodium influx, bumetanide sensitive influx or sodium red cell intracellular or potassium content. In addition, body weight and urinary excretion of sodium and potassium did not change. These data indicate that this dietetic manipulation with an oil rich in short chain saturated fatty acids lowers diastolic blood pressure but not as a result of changes in membrane sodium handling. It is possible that the short chain fats displace the longer carbon chain fatty acids which are metabolically important to cellular integrity and it is in this way that blood pressure falls.

Topics: 1-Deoxynojirimycin; Adult; Biological Transport; Blood Pressure; Double-Blind Method; Electrolytes; Erythrocyte Membrane; Erythrocytes; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Female; Glucosamine; Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors; Humans; Imino Pyranoses; Linoleic Acid; Linoleic Acids; Male; Oleic Acid; Oleic Acids; Palmitic Acids; Potassium; Sodium