Three species of monkey (rhesus, cebus, and
squirrel) were rotated through five purified diets containing 31%
energy as various fat blends (P:S between 0.1 and 1.0) for 12-
wk periods to compare the impact of specific dietary fatty acids
on plasma lipids and bipoproteins. As 12:0 + 14:0 was replaced
by 16:0, a significant decrease occurred in total and LDL cholestemol,
whereas slight increases in total cholesterol and the LDLHDL
ratio occurred when 16:0 replaced 18:2. Hegsted and Keys
regression equations provided a good fit for the observed data,
but the predicted total cholesterol response was perfect (r
= 0.995) for both equations when 16:0 was considered neutral.
Thus, under these conditions 16:0 was less chobesterolemic than
12:0 + 14:0 and only slightly cholestemolemic compared with
18:2.