Sucrose in a lipid-rich meal amplifies the postprandial excursion of serum and lipoprotein triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations by decreasing triglyceride clearance

Abstract

Nineteen young male normolipidemic volunteers sequentially consumed three test meals consisting of cream only, sucrose only, or cream with sucrose. These oral fat-tolerance tests showed an amplification of the postprandial excursion of serum triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations when sucrose was included in a lipid-rich meal compared with both the cream-only meal and the sucrose-only meal. The triglyceride concentration increase occurred only in the late postprandial phase whereas the cholesterol concentration was increased for the entire 8 h studied. The increased triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations in the triglyceride-rich lipoprotein (TRL) fraction accounted for most of the increase. The clearance of an intravenous lipid emulsion was measured before and 2 and 4 h after a sucrose meal. The two postprandial clearance rates were 34% slower than the fasting value. These data indicate that sucrose-induced postprandial hypertriglyceridemia may be induced by an inhibition of the clearance of triglyceride. The slower rate of lipolysis may cause the accumulation of cholesterol in TRL.