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Effects of Different Cereal Fibers on Cholesterol and Bile Acid Metabolism in the Syrian Golden Hamster¹

¹Presented in part at the AACC 82nd Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, October 1997. ²Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science, University of Kiel, 24105 Kiel, Germany. ³Corresponding author. Phone: 0049-431-597-3672. Fax: 0049-431-597-3679. E-mail: drieckhoff@nutrfoodsc.uni-kiel.de ⁴Present address: Novartis Nutrition Research Unit, Maastricht, The Netherlands. ⁵Cerefi Ltd, FIN-02160 Espoo, Finland.

This study examined the effects of various cereal fibers and various amounts of β-glucan on cholesterol and bile acid metabolism. Hamsters were fed semisynthetic diets containing 0.12% cholesterol, 20% fat, and either 16% total dietary fiber (TDF) from wheat bran (control) or 10% TDF from oat bran, 13% TDF from oat bran concentrate or barley grains, 16% TDF from oat fiber concentrate, barley flakes, or rye bran. After five weeks, plasma total cholesterol and liver cholesterol concentrations were significantly lower (20 and 50%, respectively) only in hamsters fed rye bran. Diets containing any of the oat ingredients or barley had no effect on total cholesterol. Changes in the pattern of biliary bile acids occurred in hamsters fed 16% TDF from barley flakes or 10% TDF from oat bran. Hamsters fed rye bran had a significantly higher fecal bile acid excretion when compared with controls fed wheat bran. Because rye bran caused the most pronounced lowering effect of total cholesterol despite the lowest content of β-glucan and soluble fibers, components other than β-glucan and soluble fibers seem to be involved in its hypocholesterolemic action. Since the effects of the oat and barley ingredients were not solely correlated to the β-glucan content, structural changes occurring during processing and concentrating of the products may have impaired the hypocholesterolemic potential of the β-glucans, and other factors such as solubility and viscosity of the fiber components seem to be involved.