T. Hozumi et al., LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF DIETARY FIBER SUPPLEMENTATION ON SERUM GLUCOSE AND LIPOPROTEIN LEVELS IN DIABETIC RATS FED A HIGH CHOLESTEROL DIET, Endocrine journal, 42(2), 1995, pp. 187-192
We have shown that cholesterol-fed diabetic rats developed atheromatou
s lesions in the aorta and coronary arteries, which were not observed
in cholesterol-fed diabetic rats receiving concomitant supplementation
with 15% glucomannan, a soluble dietary fiber concentrate. The presen
t study was designed to examine the effects of the dietary fiber suppl
ementation on serum levels of glucose and lipoproteins in cholesterol-
fed diabetic rats. Feeding a diet containing 1.5% cholesterol (wt/wt)
and 0.37% cholic acid for 18 weeks to rats made diabetic by streptozot
osin (35 mg/kg body weight, iv) produced moderate hyperglycemia and mo
derate hypercholesterolemia, the latter being characterized by high co
ncentrations not only of low density lipoproteins but also intermediat
e density lipoproteins and very low density lipoproteins. These change
s in serum lipoproteins and hyperglycemia were substantially reduced b
y 18 weeks of supplementation with glucomannan but high density lipopr
otein cholesterol and triglyceride levels did not change after feeding
a cholesterol-rich diet in the presence or absence of glucomannan sup
plementation. These results suggest that amelioration in hyperlipoprot
einemia and hyperglycemia induced by the dietary fiber supplementation
may help retard or prevent the atheromatous formation found in choles
terol-fed diabetic rats.