First insights of macadamia nut oil as dietary fat : Potential health benefits

Nowadays Macadamia oil (MO) is an attractive gour met oil because of its stability during cooking due to the high smoke p oint. Moreover, it attracts much attention for its particular fatty acid composition. Indeed, MO contains up to 80% of monounsaturatedfatty acids and is the main dietary source of palmitoleic acid (POA). In cell culture and animals models, MO and POA have been shown to improve lipid and glucose metabolism and reduce inflammation. These beneficial effects suggest that MO may be a valuable dietary fat, especially in the countries where other monounsaturated fatty acid rich oils are not available; however, more research is needed to elucidate the impact of dietary MO on health. Given the increased commercial and scientific interest in MO, we aimed to review the scientific literature on potential beneficial effects derived by its consumption.