Background and aim: Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) have been shown to be beneficial. Their haemostatic effects, however, are poorly known. We compared the effects of oleic acid (OA) and linoleic acid (LA) on variables related with coagulation and fibrinolysis in healthy subjects.
Methods and results: Thirty-eight healthy volunteers (20 women, 18 men; mean age 27) consumed a saturated fat baseline diet for four weeks and were then switched to either a high LA diet (11.5 en%) or a high OA diet (18.0 en%) for another four weeks when nearly all food was provided for the whole day. A control group of 13 subjects consumed their habitual diet throughout the study. No differences between the OA and LA diets were found in the plasma levels of fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor, antithrombin III, von Willebrand factor antigen or D-dimers. Factor FVII coagulant activity was significantly lower after the OA diet.
Conclusions: The results indicate largely similar effects for OA and LA on factors related with coagulation and fibrinolysis in humans. The effects of dietary fatty acid composition on FVII coagulant activity should be further studied.