Research on a sample in Aquitaine of the effect of trans fatty acids in food on plasmatic fats and the profile of lipoproteins

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary trans fatty acids (TFA) on the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) development, in 90 pregnant and 97 non-pregnant women, who were recruited between 1996 and 1999 in the South-West of France. The contents of TFA in total lipids, cholesteryl esters (CE) and total phospholipids (TPL) of the women's plasma, were determined using a combination of thin layer chromatography and capillary gas-liquid chromatography. Results indicate that the mean content of total TFA in plasma total lipids, expressed as proportion of all fatty acids, was 0.7%, with trans 18:1 being the most prevalent isomers (67%), followed by trans 18:2 (25%) and trans 16:1 (8%). Trans 18:3 isomers were undetectable. In TPL, the TFA accounted for 0.7% of total fatty acids, whereas in CE, the mean TFA level was twice (0.3%) as lower than in TPL. Moreover, these TFA were mainly represented by trans 18:1 isomers in TPL, and by trans 18:2 isomers in CE. Furthermore, there was no evidence of significant correlations between concentrations of low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) or high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and the TFA percentage in either adipose tissue or plasma. Overall, based on these results, it appears that the TFA intake level of French population does not induce an increase of CHD risk.