Role of dietary phospholipids in the transport of (14C) cholesterol in the prawn.

Abstract

[4-14C] cholesterol was orally administrated to the prawn Penaeus japonicus to clarify the effects of dietary phospholipids (PL) on the mobilization of sterols in diets to various organs and tissues. The prawns were fed on the test diets with 3% soybean lecithin (diet A) and without supplemental PL (diet D) and then dissected 1, 3, 9, and 24h after feeding for the analysis of radioactive steryl esters, free sterols, and polar compounds. The ingested [14C] cholesterol re- mained in the guts and hepatopancreas for a longer time in the prawns receiving diet D than in those receiving diet A. The incorporation of radioactivity info the hemolymph and muscle also proceeded at a faster rate when the prawn fed with the PL-supplemented diet rather than the PL-deficient diet. These results suggest that dietary PL such as soybean lecithin con-tributes to the smooth mobilization of dietary cholesterol in the body, especially from the hepato-pancreas to the hemolymph. Growth of the prawns receiving the PL-deficient diet was con-ceived to be retarded owing to the insufficient transport of dietary cholesterol rather than trigly-cerides in the body.