Study links long-term consumption of deep-fried oil with increased neurodegeneration
A new study found higher levels of neurodegeneration in rats that consumed reused deep fried cooking oils and their offspring compared to rats on a normal diet. Deep frying, which involves completely submerging food in hot oil, is a common method of food preparation around the world.
Results from the study also suggest that the increased neurodegeneration is tied to the oil’s effects on the bidirectional communication network between the liver, gut and brain. The liver–gut–brain axis plays a crucial role in regulating various physiological functions, and its dysregulation has been associated with neurological disorders.

Kathiresan Shanmugam, an associate professor from Central University of Tamil Nadu in Thiruvarur, led the research team.
“Deep-frying at high temperatures has been linked with several metabolic disorders, but there have been no long-term investigations on the influence of deep-fried oil consumption and its detrimental effects on health,” said Shanmugam, formerly at Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai. “To our knowledge we are first to report long-term deep-fried oil supplementation increases neurodegeneration in the first-generation offspring.”
Sugasini Dhavamani, a research collaborator from the University of Illinois at Chicago, will present the research at , the annual meeting of the 精品国产一区二区桃色, which will be held March 23–26 in San Antonio.
Deep frying food not only adds calories; reusing the same oil for frying, a common practice in both homes and restaurants, removes many of the oil’s natural antioxidants and health benefits. Oil that is reused also can contain harmful components such as acrylamide, trans fat, peroxides and polar compounds.
To explore the long-term effects of reused deep-fried frying oil, the researchers divided female rats into five groups that each received either standard chow alone or standard chow with 0.1 ml per day of unheated sesame oil, unheated sunflower oil, reheated sesame oil or reheated sunflower oil for 30 days. The reheated oils simulated reused frying oil.
Compared with the other groups, the rats that consumed reheated sesame or sunflower oil showed increased oxidative stress and inflammation in the liver. These rats also showed significant damage in the colon that brought on changes in endotoxins and lipopolysaccharides — toxins released from certain bacteria. “As a result, liver lipid metabolism was significantly altered, and the transport of the important brain omega-3 fatty acid DHA was decreased. This, in turn, resulted in neurodegeneration, which was seen in the brain histology of the rats consuming the reheated oil as well as their offspring.”
Additional studies in which MSG was used to induce neurotoxicity in the offspring showed that the offspring that consumed the reheated oils were more likely to show neuronal damage than the control group receiving no oil or those that received unheated oil.
Although more studies are needed, the researchers say that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids and nutraceuticals such as curcumin and oryzanol might be helpful in reducing liver inflammation and neurodegeneration. They added that clinical studies in humans are needed to evaluate the adverse effects of eating fried foods, especially those made with oil that is used repeatedly.
As a next step, the researchers would like to study the effects of deep-frying oil on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as on anxiety, depression and neuroinflammation. They would also like to further explore the relationship between gut microbiota and the brain to identify potential new ways to prevent or treat neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation.
Sugasini Dhavamani will present this research during a poster session from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. CDT on Sunday, March 25, in the exhibit hall of the Henry B. Gonz谩lez Convention Center (Poster Board No. 326) ().
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we鈥檒l send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Science
Science highlights or most popular articles

Omega-3 fats linked to healthy aging and improved heart metabolism
Scientists from the University of Iowa find that a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids from fish oil increases cardiac triglyceride uptake and improves insulin sensitivity. Read more about this recent JLR study.

RA patient blood reveals joint innerworkings
Researchers in the Netherlands use mass spectrometry to compare the proteome of plasma and synovial fluid in rheumatoid arthritis patients and find a correlation. Read more about this recent paper in Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.

Hope for a cure hangs on research
Amid drastic proposed cuts to biomedical research, rare disease families like Hailey Adkisson鈥檚 fight for survival and hope. Without funding, science can鈥檛 鈥渃atch up鈥 to help the patients who need it most.

Before we鈥檝e lost what we can鈥檛 rebuild: Hope for prion disease
Sonia Vallabh and Eric Minikel, a husband-and-wife team racing to cure prion disease, helped develop ION717, an antisense oligonucleotide treatment now in clinical trials. Their mission is personal 鈥 and just getting started.

Defeating deletions and duplications
Promising therapeutics for chromosome 15 rare neurodevelopmental disorders, including Angelman syndrome, Dup15q syndrome and Prader鈥揥illi syndrome.

Using 'nature鈥檚 mistakes' as a window into Lafora disease
After years of heartbreak, Lafora disease families are fueling glycogen storage research breakthroughs, helping develop therapies that may treat not only Lafora but other related neurological disorders.