A Nori but not a Konbu, dietary supplement decreases the cholesterolaemia, liver fat infiltration and mineral bioavailability in hypercholesterolaemic growing Wistar rats

Abstract

The nutritional consequences of algae consumption in young populations consuming hypercholesterolaemic diets have hardly been investigated. This study tests the effect of algae supplementation of cholesterol-enriched balanced diets on growth, dietary efficiency ratio, mineral intake and absorption, organ weight and structure and cholesterolaemia in growing Wistar rats. Three groups of ten rats each were fed for 3 weeks with experimental diets containing 93 % casein-soyabean oil base with 2·4 % cholesterol-raising agent and 7 % supplement. The control group received cellulose (35 %), group 2 consumed Nori (33·8 % fibre) and group 3 consumed Konbu (36·1 % fibre). Food intake and body weight gain were not significantly affected. Algae groups presented significantly higher dietary efficiency ratio values than control rats. Apparent absorption of several minerals appeared significantly affected, mainly in Nori-fed rats, with a significant decrease in the ratio of Zn and Cu intakes and apparent absorption. Nori diet significantly decreased plasma cholesterol. Algae supplement did not significantly affect organ size and structure. Control and Konbu rats showed severe liver fat infiltration, while Nori rats exhibited a significantly lower degree of lipid-like hepatocyte vacuolization but light to moderate leukocyte infiltration. Light to moderate scaling off of the epithelium and moderate submucosa oedema was observed in all groups. Although long-term studies are needed to check the possible extrapolation of these data to human subjects, it can be concluded that a Nori, but not a Konbu, dietary supplement reverses the negative effect of dietary cholesterol intake and also appears to be related to mineral availability in growing subjects.

Lipoproteinemia and arylesterase activity in Zucker Fa/Fa rats fed glucomannan/spirulina‐enriched squid‐surimi

“…In the present study, diets containing G or GS‐enriched restructured squid‐surimi were generally well accepted by growing rats, as similar intake data from other studies corroborate . As in other studies, diets with a high energy and saturated fat content induced obesity and considerable body weight gain in Zucker Fa/Fa rats .…”

Hypocholesterolemic Effects of Nutraceuticals Produced from the Red Microalga Porphyridium sp. in Rats

“…Algae are rich in natural bioactive compounds that may act as antihypertensive, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antitumour, anticoagulant and/or hypocholesterolemic agents [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. In addition, many species are potential sources of nutraceuticals, since they have high concentrations of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, ω-3 fatty acids and various functional polysaccharides [1,2,3,10,11].…”

Protective Effects of Sea Spaghetti-Enriched Restructured Pork Against Dietary Cholesterol: Effects on Arylesterase and Lipoprotein Profile and Composition of Growing Rats

“…8 Sea Spaghetti seaweed (Himanthalia elongata) offers considerable potential as a functional food ingredient due to its dietary fiber, mineral and trace element, protein and lipid content, and composition, which explains its high antioxidant capacity [9][10][11] and hypocholesterolemic effects. 4,12 Nevertheless, previous studies by our group show controversial effects of the consumption of seaweeds 13,14 and restructured pork (RP) containing seaweeds on plasma cholesterolemia and endogenous antioxidant enzyme activities. [15][16][17] Modifications of the lipoprotein profile increase the risk of CHD.…”