Dietary mustard, rape seed oils and selenium exert distinct effects on serum Se, lipids, peroxidation products and platelet aggregability.

A degenerative cardiomyopathy (DCM) has been observed among mustard oil (MUST) users in China who eat 150 ml/week. Though the condition may be a selenium (Se) deficiency, MUST, rich in erucic acid (22:1), may bear a cardiotoxic or pro-oxidant substrate(s). The purpose of this feeding study was to compare the effects of feeding MUST, high erucic acid rape seed oil (HEAR), low erucic acid rape seed oil (LEAR) and corn oil, with or without Se addenda, on serum cholesterol, triglycerides, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), alpha-tocopherol, platelet aggregation and hepatic glutathione peroxidase (GSHPXase). Heart muscle pathology was evaluated.Eighty male, weanling Wistar rats were divided into four dietary groups and fed AIN76A diet for 8 weeks with one of four oils: 1) MUST, 2) HEAR, 3) LEAR, or CORN oil. Half of each group received 0.43 mg/kg Se supplement. A purified diet was fed for 8 weeks.Neither Se nor oil type affected growth, though serum Se rose with dietary Se addendum (p < 0.01), an...