REPRODUCTION OF MICE FED LOW ERUCIC ACID RAPESEED OIL CONTAMINATED WITH WEED SEED OILS

Abstract

Processed oils from three samples of fine rapeseed screenings and stinkweed (Thlaspi arvense) seeds were used to contaminate low erucic acid rapeseed oil (LE-RSO), each at two levels (5 and 15%). The contaminated oils were fed at 20% weight/weight (wt/wt) of a purified diet to virgin female Swiss mice for a 2-wk preliminary period and then during the first 18 days of gestation. Two control diets were also fed, the first containing 20% (wt/wt) of the uncontaminated LE-RSO and the second containing 20% (wt/wt) of a lard:corn oil mixture. The mice fed one screenings-oil contaminant had a decreased number of live fetuses, probably due to an inferior palatability of the diet and hence a reduced feed intake of these animals. The screenings oil and stinkweed oil contaminants had no further deleterious effects on the reproductive performance or teratogenic susceptibility of the mice. However, mice fed the lard:corn oil control diet had an increased incidence of cleft palate in their fetuses compared with mice fed LE-RSO. The presence of weed seed oil in low erucic acid rapeseed oil, at levels exceeding those likely to be encountered in commercial practice, resulted in no evidence of teratologically deleterious factors being present, but level of feed intake was affected in some cases, perhaps because of reduced palatability. Key words: Weed seed oil, rapeseed oil, erucic acid, mice, reproduction