Nutritional Status of Low‐Erucic‐Acid Rapeseed Oils

Abstract Refined rapeseed oils with a high and a low‐erucic‐acid content were fed to male Wistar rats for six months. Histomorphometric studies of the changes in predetermined heart sections indicated a significantly higher incidence and a greater severity of myocardial lesions in rats fed high‐erucic‐acid (regular) rapeseed oil than in rats fed either low‐erucic‐acid rapeseed oil or sunflowerseed oil. After administration of various amounts of Primor oil, a French rapeseed oil containing 0.3% erucic acid, the observed minor changes were indistinguishable in nature, incidence and severity from those observed in control animals.