Fiordaliso M, Kok N, Desager JP, Goethals F, Deboyser D, Roberfroid M, Delzenne N
Department des Sciences Pharmaceutiques, Faculte de Medecine, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
The present study was aimed at answering the question why feeding rats
an oligofructose (OFS) supplemented diet could cause a significant reduction
in plasma lipid levels. Daily administration of a 10% (w/w) OFS-containing
diet to normolipidemic male rats resulted in a decrease in plasma triglycerides,
phospholipids and cholesterol. The triglyceride-lowering effect was observed
after one week and lasted for at least 16 wk and was associated with a
reduction in plasma very low density lipoproteins, indicating that the
hypolipidemic effect of OFS may be due to changes in liver lipid metabolism.
We therefore tested whether OFS feeding modified the capacity of the liver
to synthesize triglycerides from free fatty acids. Hepatocytes isolated
from livers of control and OFS-fed rats were incubated in the presence
of [1-14C]palmitate, and both intracellular and extracellular [14C]triglyceride
formation were quantified. We found that chronic feeding of an OFS-supplemented
diet to rats significantly reduced the capacity of isolated hepatocytes
to synthesize triglycerides from palmitate. The results suggest that, like
other soluble dietary fibers, OFS significantly alters liver lipid metabolism,
resulting over time in a significant reduction in plasma triglyceride,
phospholipid and cholesterol levels.
PMID: 7769973, UI: 95287785