Antihypercholesterolemic activity of beta-sitostanol in rabbits.
The antihypercholesterolemic activity of beta-sitosterol and beta-sitostanol was compared in male rabbits given a cholesterol-supplemented diet. beta-Sitosterol and beta-sitostanol were fed to these rabbits at the 0.5% level with cholesterol (0.5% and 0.2% in experiments I and II, respectively). The serum cholesterol level tended to be lower in rabbits fed beta-sitostanol than in the animals fed beta-sitosterol even in experiment I. The beta-sitostanol exhibited a significantly greater hypocholesterolemic activity in experiment II, LDL-cholesterol being decreased markedly. The liver cholesterol decreased in both groups of rabbits to a similar extent. beta-Sitostanol prevented more effectively the formation of dietary cholesterol-induced atheroma in the abdominal aorta than beta-sitosterol. It is most likely, together with the data reported previously on rats, that the hypocholesterolemic activity of beta-sitostanol results from the significantly greater inhibitory effect on the intestinal absorption of cholesterol than that of beta-sitosterol.
D000818:Animals; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D012855:Sitosterols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013261:Sterols / Q000378:metabolism
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D008055:Lipids; D008074:Lipoproteins; D012855:Sitosterols; D013261:Sterols; C025473:gamma-sitosterol; D002784:Cholesterol; C021255:stigmastanol