The hypercholesterolemic effect of cafestol in coffee oil in gerbils and rats

Coffee beans contain the diterpene cafestol, which raises plasma cholestero l concentrations in humans. Daily consumption of 2 g coffee oil, which prov ides approximately 60 mg cafestol (equivalent to 5.7 mg cafestol/MJ), incre ases plasma cholesterol concentrations by 28%. We studied the effect of caf estol in coffee oil on gerbils and rats to determine whether the pathways t hat lead to cafestol-induced hypercholesterolemia in humans are also presen t in other species. We fed coffee oil from the same batch used in humans to female gerbils and rats. Gerbils were fed a semipurified diet containing 0 .5% or 5% (w/w) coffee oil (equivalent to 8.7 and 86.8 mg cafestol/MJ, resp ectively) in the presence or absence of 0.05% (w/w) cholesterol for a perio d of 10 weeks. When compared with the gerbils fed no coffee oil, the additi on of 0.5% coffee oil to the diets did not affect plasma cholesterol. plasm a cholesterol was significantly higher only when 5% coffee oil was fed, bot h in the absence (1.01 mmol/L, 33% higher) and presence (1.87 mmol/L, 70% h igher) of dietary cholesterol. Liver weight was also significantly higher w hen 5% coffee oil was fed. Rats were also fed diets containing 0.5% or 5% c offee oil (equivalent to 8.7 and 86.8 mg cafestol/MJ) with and without 0.05 % cholesterol for 8 weeks. Feeding 0.5% coffee oil compared with no coffee oil resulted in significantly higher plasma cholesterol levels throughout t he study both in the absence (0.46 mmol/L, 27% higher) and presence (0.28 m mol/L, 15% higher) of dietary cholesterol. Diets containing 5% coffee oil a ppeared to be toxic. Thus, coffee oil diterpenes can result in higher plasm a cholesterol in gerbils and rats. The failure to observe these effects in previous studies may be due to doses that were too low. (J. Nutr. Biochem. 11.311-317, 2000) (C) Elsevier Science Inc. 2000. All rights reserved.