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The two objectives of this research were to improve the cholesterol-fed rat as a model for evaluating the hypocholesterolemic potential of foods and to determine the relationship between serum and liver lipid levels in the cholesterol-fed rat and the ingestion of nine levels of a high fiber oat flour (HFOF) derived from oat bran. Ingestion of 0.2% cholic acid, sodium cholate or sodium taurocholate with 1% cholesterol (CH) significantly elevated serum and liver CH, liver triglycerides and liver weight compared to those values in control rats fed diets not containing CH and bile acids; 0.05 and 0.1% cholic acid with 1% CH were also effective. Ingestion of increasing amounts of HFOF, containing 0-10% dietary fiber, by rats made hypercholesterolemic with 1% CH and 0.1% cholic acid in the diet produced a significant inverse relationship between serum and liver cholesterol levels and HFOF intake; r = 0.48, p less than 0.0001 for serum CH and r = 0.55, p less than 0.0001 for liver CH. Because of the similarities in the responses of humans and of the cholesterol-fed rat to oat fiber ingestion, this dose-response relationship in the rat model suggests that larger intakes of soluble oat fiber sources may be accompanied by greater reduction in serum CH levels in humans.

The effect of processing on the ability of oat fiber to lower plasma and liver cholesterol concentrations in rats was studied. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 6% dietary fiber as cellulose, oat bran, high fiber oat flour or one of four processed high fiber oat flours for 3 wk. All diets also contained 1.0% cholesterol and 0.2% cholic acid. At the conclusion plasma and liver concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides were measured. All of the oat products significantly lowered plasma and liver cholesterol without depressing food intake or weight gain. As little as 4% dietary fiber in a processed oat flour significantly lowered cholesterol concentrations. Detailed fiber analysis of all of the oat fiber products revealed that processing increased the proportion of the total fiber that was soluble. The proportions recovered as total beta-glucans and total neutral sugars also increased, in part because the proportion recovered as Klason lignin decreased in all of the processed oat flours except the one prepared by a high pressure extrusion process.

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