Effect of dietary protein level and cholesterol supplementation prior to acute starvation on serum and liver lipids in the rat

Abstract

The effect of acute starvation on serum and liver lipids has been studied in rats receiving high and low protein diets, with or without cholesterol and cholic acid supplementation. The rats which had consumed the low protein diet alone, showed during starvation an increase in the concentration of all serum lipid fractions, while rats on the high protein diet had a marked and significant decrease. The groups on the diet supplemented with cholesterol and cholic acid had higher initial values that dropped rapidly during starvation. This change, however, was more pronounced in the group receiving the high protein-cholesterol supplemented diet. The animals on the low protein cholesterol supplemented diet maintained higher serum lipid levels throughout the experiment. Changes in liver lipids were also observed among the dietary groups studied. It was concluded, therefore, that serum and liver lipids change differently with starvation in animals on a low protein diet than in animals on a high protein diet. No mechanism for such differences can be postulated at present.