Lipid Profile of Rats Fed Cholesterol, Barely and Wheat

Abstract

The comparative effects of barely and wheat on body lipids were investigated by feeding 105 growing male Sprague-Dawley rats diets containing: 1, 2, 3 and 4 g cholesterol added to 1 kg diet. Barely and wheat were added to the basal diet at 55% and the ingredients were recalculated to obtain 10% total dietary fiber. Diets were fed for 4 week; basal diet (free of cholesterol and fiber) was the control diet. Food Intake (FI); Weight Gain (WG); Total Lipid (TL) and Total Cholesterol (TC) in serum, liver, heart, kidneys spleen and feces; Triglycerides (TG), Phospholipids (PL), Free Cholesterol (FC) and Cholesterol Ester (CE) in serum and liver; Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) in serum and neutral sterols and bile acids in feces were studied. Rats fed barely had the lowest levels of FI, WG, TL and TC in serum and endogenous organs; TG, FC and CE in serum and liver and of LDL-c and HDL-c, whereas had the highest levels of TL, TC, neutral sterols and bile acids in feces. Added cholesterol to the diets of rats resulted in an increase, in dose dependant manner, in mentioned lipid parameters in serum and endogenous organs and its effects followed the raising order: with control diet > with wheat > with barely. However, dietary cholesterol caused an increase in TL, TC, neutral sterols and bile acids in feces.