Abstract
The effect of fermented soymilk on rats fed a high cholesterol diet was investigated to clarify the cholesterol-lowering function. Male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 7 weeks were fed a control diet (1% cholesterol, high cholesterol diet), high cholesterol diet containing 11.7% fermented soymilk diet (5% soy protein as final concentration, F-5), or high cholesterol diet containing 23.4% fermented soymilk diet (10% soy protein as final concentration, F-10) for 5 weeks. The liver weight and fat mass were decreased by the ingestion of fermented soymilk. The hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol levels in the F-5 and F-10 groups were significantly lowered compared to those in the control group. The plasma total cholesterol level of the F-10 group was significantly decreased. The expression of SREBP-2, a cholesterol synthesis-related gene, was significantly decreased in liver of the F-5 group, but the expression of CYP7a1, a cholesterol catabolism-related gene, was significantly increased. These results suggest that fermented soymilk can modulate the cholesterol metabolism in rats fed a high cholesterol diet.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a severe problem in developed and developing countries
Soy protein in the diet reduces the concentration of total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in plasma or serum [5,6,7,8]
Sugano et al found that the undigested insoluble fraction obtained by treating soy protein with microbial protease has a hypocholesterolemic effect in rats fed a cholesterol-enriched diet [8]
Summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a severe problem in developed and developing countries. CVD is a disease mainly caused by atherosclerosis [1]. One of the risk factors of atherosclerosis is hypercholesterolemia [2,3] and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the major cause of onset of the atherogenic process [1] Soy foods, traditional food products in Asia [4], have been known to exhibit lipid metabolism-modulating effects since the 1970s. Soy protein in the diet reduces the concentration of total cholesterol (TC) and LDL-C in plasma or serum [5,6,7,8]. Soy protein reduced the triglyceride (TG) concentrations in the plasma and liver in experimental animals and human [5,9,10,11,12]
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