The effects of physiological dietary phytosterol supplements on intestinal microflora activity and faecal sterols and their capacity to protect rats fed a normal or high saturated fatty-acid diet against tumour development were studied. A group of 80 female Wistar rats were fed an 8% lipid diet for 4 weeks (adaptation period) and then randomly assigned in a factorial experimental design study to diets containing 8% or 24% hydrogenated coconut oil, with or without a 24-mg/day/rat phytosterol supplement. They were instilled intrarectally with saline or methyl-nitroso-urea (MNU). Faecal sterol output was analysed for one week each month. Pathological analysis was done at the end of the 30-week experiment. Animals treated with MNU and given phytosterol supplements had tumour frequencies (8/20) similar to those not fed phytosterols (11/20). The fat-supplemented diet had no significant influence. Colonic glands were found in area of lymphoid follicles in all the groups, but were more frequent in rats on high-fat diets (P < 0.01). The coprostanol and the cholesterol excretion of the phytosterol-supplemented rats was significantly enhanced. Therefore phytosterols have an unfavourable effect on bacterial activity. These data confirm the capacity of phytosterols to decrease cholesterol absorption, but indicate that a large excess of phytosterol must be avoided until further research on its effects on carcinogenesis has been done.

This study assessed the relationship between plasma retinol deficiency and infectious diseases. The plasma retinol, anthropometric (Body Mass Index, triceps skinfold thickness, mid-arm muscle circumference) and biological indices (proteins, albumin, transferrin, prealbumin, retinol binding protein) of protein-energy malnutrition of 63 patients with infectious diseases (ID) were compared to those of two control groups of similar age: 527 patients with other diseases (C1) and 92 healthy people (C2). Plasma retinol, albumin, transferrin and prealbumin were significantly lower in the ID group than in the C1 group. A lower body mass index was noted in men only. The ID and C1 groups had lower values for all indices (except for mid-arm muscle circumference). The ID group had lower albumin, transferrin, and prealbumin than the C1 group. The percentage of patients with plasma retinol below 300 µg/l was higher in the ID group (48.0% in men, 39% in women) than in the C1 group (25.0 and 21.5%); the odds ratio adjusted on age and sex equaled 2.46, 95% CI (1.39–4.37). It was lower than 2% in the C2 group. The results obtained with multiple regression analysis showed that, in the patients, the association between plasma retinol and infectious diseases remained significant when age, sex, anthropometric and biological indices were taken into account. Consequently, it is useful to check up the food intake habits of the elderly.

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