Effect of soy milk and bifidobacterium-fermented soy milk on plasma and liver lipids in ovariectomized Syrian hamsters

The effects of soy milk and fermented soy milk on lipid metabolism were stu died in ovariectomized Syrian hamsters. Five mo-old Syrian hamsters were ra ndomly assigned to four treatment groups: ovariectomized (OVX)+control diet (OVX-C); OVX+soy milk, diet (OVX-SM); OVX+fermented soy milk diet (OVX-FSM ); and sham-operated+control diet (Sham-C). The hamsters were fed on these diets for 4 wk. The atherogenic index value of the OVX-FSM group was lower than that of the OVX-C group. The plasma triglyceride level of the OVX-FSM group was significantly lower than that of the OVX-C group. The liver total cholesterol contents in the OVX-SM and OVX-FSM groups were significantly l ower than that in the OVX-C group. Thus, these results demonstrate that bif idobacterium-fermented soy milk had a hypolipidemic effect in ovariectomize d hamsters.