Pinus koraiensis seed oil (PinnoThin™) supplementation reduces body weight gain and lipid concentration in liver and plasma of mice

Vegetable oils from the seeds of some conifera, such as Pinus pinaster and Pinus koraiensis, are currently under investigation for their use in the feed industry and/or as dietary supplements. In this study the effects of a pine nut oil-supplemented diet in mice, in comparison to control animals fed with a maize oil enriched diet, were investigated. Furthermore, we have also studied a possible modulation of the de novo fatty acid synthesis in the liver of the pine nut oil-fed animals. Pine nut oil caused a significant reduction in body weight gain and liver weight (37.4 and 13.7%, respectively). An impressive decrease in plasma triglycerides and total cholesterol (31.8 and 28.5%, respectively) was also found in pine nut oil-fed animals. Liver lipids were also positively influenced by pine nut oil. The mitochondrial and cytosolic enzyme activities involved in hepatic fatty acid synthesis were strongly reduced both in pine nut oil and maize oil-fed animals, thus suggesting that the benefi cial effects of pine nut oil are not due to an inhibition of hepatic lipogenesis. We can summarize that a pine nut oil-supplemented diet reduces body weight gain without any influence on the feed intake and decreases lipid concentration in liver and plasma without any infl uence on the enzymes of the de novo fatty acid synthesis in mice.