Reversibility of the changes of rabbit muscle fatty acid profile

Reversibility of the muscle fatty acid profile in rabbit was studied using two dietary fat supplementations. Thirty 4-week-old rabbits were fed a diet with 4% hydrogenated sunflower oil (SAT) for 4 weeks, which was changed to one with 4% sunflower oil (UNSAT) for a further 4 weeks. The reverse UNSAT-SAT feeding plan was also performed on another 30 rabbits. Muscle Longissimus dorsi and blood samples were taken at 4, 5 and 8 weeks. Muscle fatty acid incorporation and reversibility were demonstratcd. The SAT-UNSAT and UNSAT-SAT groups differed only in palmitic and linoleic acids at the end of the trial. Plasma cholesterol was temporarily decreased by changing the diet to UNSAT