Effects of dietary minerals on cholesterol metabolism in rabbits fed cholesterol-free atherogenic diets

✍ Scribed by S. Sammam; E.M. Kurowska; N. Guthrie; L. Eckel; K.K. Carroll

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 454 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0955-2863
• DOI: 10.1016/0955-2863(92)90007-6

✦ Synopsis

To investigate the effect of dietary minerals on cholesterol metabolism, four groups of rabbits were fed semipurified diets with modified mineral mixes for 7 weeks. Compared with the control diet that contained minerals at the 4% (wt/wt) level (diet A), LDL-cholesterol was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in those fed a diet with a lower amount of minerals (diet B). The inclusion of a supplement to diet B to restore the more abundant minerals to the level found in diet A (diet C) had no effect on LDL-cholesterol, however, the inclusion of a trace element supplement (diet D) resulted in a lowering of LDL-cholesterol to the level observed in the control diet. Hepatic, fecal, and total plasma cholesterol concentrations were not statistically different in the four groups. Fecal bile acids were also unaffected by the dietary variations. The data suggest that a reduction in dietary minerals increases the concentration of LDL cholesterol by a mechanism unrelated to the rates of cholesterol and bile acid excretion, and the trace elements are more likely to be involved than the abundant minerals.