THE CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING EFFECT OF OAT BRAN CEREALS IN RATS - INFLUENCE OF PROCESSING

In order to study the cholesterol-lowering properties of oat bran-base d ready-to-eat cereal (RTE), rats (12/group) were fed the following di ets: basal semipurified (B), B plus 1% cholesterol (BC), BC plus 10% c ellulose (fiber control), BC + 67% of an extruded RTE cereal; BC + 67% of a conventionally cooked RTE cereal; and BC + 67% of the raw ingred ients of the latter. All the RTE cereal products were oat bran-based, and 1% cholesterol was included in the dietary formulations. Ar the en d of a 3-week feeding period, serum total cholesterol was significantl y increased from 2.02 +/- 0.13 mmol/L to 3.57 +/- 0.18 mmol/L due to c holesterol feeding alone. The presence of either cellulose or oat bran products in the diet negated the hypercholesterolemia. Inclusion of 1 % cholesterol in the diet raised liver cholesterol almost 10 fold. All three of the oat bran-based products significantly inhibited the incr ease but cellulose was ineffective. Liver cholesterol content was due primarily to the accumulation of cholesteryl esters. Liver triglycerid e was also increased by dietary cholesterol and the presence of cellul ose or oat bran in the diet appeared to enhance this effect. The metho d of processing the RTE appears to affect the efficacy of oat bran.