Reduction of Cholesterol Transported in Apo B-Rich Lipoproteins in Spontaneously Hypercholesterolemic Hamsters Fed an Apple-Supplemented Diet

Abstract

The influence of an apple-supplemented diet on the distribution of cholesterol among the lipoproteins in plasma was studied using a special animal model: FEC hamsters which spontaneously develop hypercholesterolemia with aging when fed a commercial balanced diet. This metabolic disorder did not occur in animals freely consuming apples in addition to the standard diet. This combined diet essentially decreased the cholesterol content in the VLDL and LDL, the apo B-rich lipoproteins in plasma.

Steroid Pattern of Bile and Feces in Response to a Fruit-Enriched Diet in Hypercholesterolemic Hamsters

“…An apple-rich diet is known to have a cholesterol-lowering effect in humans [6][7][8][9]. In laboratory ani mals fed on apple-supplemented diet, the reduction in plasma cholesterol [10] is asso ciated with various metabolic changes, in cluding a decrease in the rate of esterifica tion of newly synthesized cholesterol in vitro [11], and a high cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase activity in hepatic microsomes [12], This suggests that a diet rich in apples enhances bile acid biogenesis, and possibly fecal excre tion of steroids. This study was designed to investigate the effects of an apple diet on the steroid pattern in bile and feces and to exam ine to what extent the relative proportions of steroids could be altered in response to the apple diet.…”