Abstract

Effects of cholestyramine and phytosterol on cholesterol metabolism in the starvation-refeeding rats

Author(s): Reiko Inai, Tatsuhiro Matsuo

The present study investigated the effects of cholestyramine and phytosterol on cholesterol metabolism in the starvation-refeeding rats. Twenty female Donryu rats (age 5weeks)were fed a cholesterol-free diet for 14 days and then divided into four groups, a control (Con), high-cholesterol (Chol), Chol-cholestyramine (Chol-Cm), andCm(Experiment 1) or Chol-phytosterol (Chol-PS) (Experiment 2) diet group.All groups were fasted for 2 days followed by 3 days feeding. Food intake, final body weight and liver weight were not different among the four groups. The plasma total cholesterol, free cholesterol, cholesteryl ester, and nonHDL-cholesterol concentrationswere significantly higher and plasma HDL-cholesterol concentrationwas significantly lower in the Chol group than in the other groups. Dietary cholestyramine inhibited the change in the plasma cholesterol concentrations induced by a high-cholesterol diet (Experiment 1).However, no effect on the plasma cholesterol concentrations by dietary phytosterol was found (Experiment 2).Dietary cholestyramine and phytosterol significantly inhibited liver cholesterol accumulation but the inhibitory effect of phytosterol was lower than that of cholestyramine. These results suggest that the dietary cholestyramine and phytoseterol affected cholesterol metabolism in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet under starvation-refeeding status.