So that was a weird title. Today we are going to briefly discuss an article published in the journal Nature: Scientific Reports titled "Effect of canola oil consumption on memory, synapse and neuropathology in the triple transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease". This article describes work done with a mouse model, looking into the effects that the addition of Canola (rapeseed) oil into the diet has on proteins associated with Alzheimer's.

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It's long been known that the Mediterranean diet, is one associated with a variety of health benefits. One of the main reasons for these health benefits is the fact that this diet is rich in olive oil. However, olive oil is expensive in many parts of the world, as such people have been looking for a cheaper alternative. An oil with a similar profile of fats was sought, and one was found in Canola oil (aka rapeseed oil... but nobody wants to think about eating rape... so its name was changed to canola). [4] As a result of this similar fat profile, canola has been touted as a potentially healthier fat option and a suitable replacement for olive oil in both a Mediterranean and non Mediterranean style diet. However... and I bet you know where this is going... there has been very little study done to actually confirm that canola oil IS actually as healthy an option as olive oil.

The study we discuss today was exploring just one small facet of this. The effect these oils have on proteins related to the development of Alzheimer's disease. As you are likely familiar by now due to its prevalence, Alzheimer's is a disease characterized by the degeneration of brain function. It is thought to be caused by the build up of amyloid beta plaques or neurofibrilliary tangles in the brain, destroying neuron functioning. The logic for the authors choosing to study alzheimers proteins is due to the findings which indicate that olive oil has a positive effect on amyloid beta levels in the brain. [5] however nothing is known whether or not canola results in a similar benefiticial/protective effect.

The Study

In today's study, the authors were looking at mice, specifically tripple transgenic mice (engineered to develop alzheimer's issues.. IE they develop both amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles), that were provided with normal mouse chow or chow which had been supplemented with canola oil. The mice were just fed for a duration of 6 months, and then the effects on their physiology was recorded. Lets discuss what they found:

Canola Fed Mice Got Fat

The authors found that over the duration of the study the mice eating the canola chow gained a lot more weight:

Starting Weight: 27.49 ± 0.88 grams (normal chow); 27.66 ± 1.12 (canola chow)
Final Weight (normal chow) 31.88 ± 0.91
Final Weight (canola chow) 37.71 ± 1.24

This finding has no bearing on the study, but was interesting for the authors to report as it was in contrast to previous findings looking at the effects of canola oil on weight. [6]

The Authors Found Some Changes To Mouse Behavior

The authors put the mice through a variety of studies to gauge their behavior as a result of the diets, but found in most of the tests no significant differences between the control group or the canola fed group, which is good. Except for one test which was looking at a parameter called "alternation." This refers to an animals "willingness to explore new environments." It's testing how well Ms. mousey remembers where she already were as she explores a maze. It gives us an idea as to whether there are memory impairments.

What we can see in the figure to the right is that the "alternation" level of the mice fed the canola diet (black bar "co") is lower than the mice who ate the control diet. This is indicative of some level of memory impairment in the animals in excess over that of the control group.

There Were Some Changes In Amyloid Beta Protein Levels

The authors also looked at the soluble and insoluble fractions of the amyloid beta proteins in the brains of these mice after completion of the study. They found that while the normal soluble (dissolved in water) protein fraction remained the same, there were some statistically significant changes in the insoluble (not dissolved in water) fraction (which can be made soluble with formic acid). We can see the changes to the formic acid solubilized amyloid beta proteins below.

Reproduced From [1] Figure 2

This is interesting as it is thought that the soluble amyloid beta aggregates are those relevant to the negative pathological effects that we see for this disease. [7] In laymans terms, it's interesting that these insoluble amyloid beta compositions change, but it is the soluble ones, that in this study do NOT change that are the most relevant to Alzheimer's disease.

HOWEVER! Still other research indicates that increases to the levels of the insoluble AB42/40 aggregate (like what is observed here) play a role in the amount of the soluble aggregated form that ARE thought to have a neurological effect. [8]

One other difference the researchers also reported in a change in a protein eloquently named PSD95 (aka post synaptic density protein 95). This is a protein which is important in regulating the functioning of our synapses (synapses are the gaps between neurons where the signals from one neuron get passed to the next) [7]

What Does All Of This Mean?

It means that in a mouse model at least, these researchers demonstrated issues relating to to memory, amyloid beta plaque formation and the functioning of synapses all resulting from the consumption of canola oil.

The data in the study is not sufficient to state that canola oil is really bad for you or anything like that, so don't start worrying!

What the data in this study does illustrate is that the health benefits afforded by the consumption of olive oil don't appear to be reproduced by canola oil in this one Alzheimer's mouse model.

My One Complaint With This Study?

Why did the researchers go through all of this effort, and not include a third chow group where rather than canola oil, OLIVE OIL was supplemented. It would have been REALLY helpful for me to see the side by side comparison of the data relating to the two oils, and also telling as to whether their methods used here had any effects on the results.

Either way, an interesting piece of work! I look forward to seeing more research into these observations described here, it would be nice to get a better grasp on what other biochemical changes might occur from consumption of a bunch of canola oil relative to olive oil ( olive oil is what I personally prefer in my own cooking... but I have canola in my kitchen as well! )

Sources

Image Sources

Image 1
Image 2

Text Sources

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17373-3
2. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mediterranean-diet-meal-plan
3. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/adopt-a-mediterranean-diet-now-for-better-health-later-201311066846
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25322908
5. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955286315001898
6. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043661809003028
7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982207004149
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20628413

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