The effect of dietary fibre on bile acid metabolism in rats

Fecal bile acid excretion and composition in response to changes in dietary wheat bran, fat and calcium in the rat

The effect and possible interactive influence of different dietary amounts of wheat bran, fat and calcium on the fecal excretion, concentration and composition of bile acids was studied in Fischer-344 rats. The fecal bile acids were analyzed using gas-liquid chromatography. Dietary wheat bran increased both total bile acid excretion and fecal weight without changes in fecal bile acid concentration. The proportion of fecal hyodeoxycholic acid decreased with increasing dietary fiber, whereas that of lithocholic and deoxycholic acids increased significantly with fiber intake. The percent content of fecal chenodeoxycholic acid did not change. Increasing dietary fat led to an increase in bile acid excretion without changes in either fecal weight or bile acid concentration. In contrast, the level of dietary calcium did not affect the total excretion of bile acids. However, since calcium increased the fecal weight, it consequently diluted bile acids and decreased their fecal concentration. Dietary fat and calcium had no influence on fecal bile acid composition. There were no interactive effects of wheat bran, fat and calcium on fecal bile acids. The finding in this study that dietary fiber, fat and calcium induce significant changes in fecal bile acids may be of relevance to the potential of bile acids to promote carcinogenesis.

Effect of chitosan feeding on intestinal bile acid metabolism in rats

The effect of chitosan feeding (for 21 days) on intestinal bile acids was studied in male rats. Serum cholesterol levels in rats fed a commercial diet low in cholesterol were decreased by chitosan supplementation. Chitosan inhibited the transformation of cholesterol to coprostanol without causing a qualitative change in fecal excretion of these neutral sterols. Increased fiber consumption did not increase fecal excretion of bile acids, but caused a marked change in fecal bile acid composition. Lithocholic acid increased significantly, deoxycholic acid increased to a lesser extent, whereas hyodeoxycholic acid and the 6 beta-isomer and 5-epimeric 3 alpha-hydroxy-6-keto-cholanoic acid(s) decreased. The pH in the cecum and colon became elevated by chitosan feeding which affected the conversion of primary bile acids to secondary bile acids in the large intestine. In the cecum, chitosan feeding increased the concentration of alpha-,beta-, and omega-muricholic acids, and lithocholic acid. However, the levels of hyodeoxycholic acid and its 6 beta-isomer, of monohydroxy-monoketo-cholanoic acids, and of 3 alpha, 6 xi, 7 xi-trihydroxy-cholanoic acid decreased. The data suggest that chitosan feeding affects the metabolism of intestinal bile acids in rats.

Cholestasis of total parenteral nutrition: bile acid and bile lipid metabolism in parenterally nourished rats

As food in the intestine "drives" the enterohepatic circulation and bile acids influence bile flow, we postulated that the cholestasis of total parenteral nutrition might be due to bile acid changes, and the cholelithiasis and biliary sludge of total parenteral nutrition to bile lipid changes. We therefore studied bile acid and bile lipid metabolism in the following groups of rats, with and without bile fistula: (a) nonfasted, orally fed controls, (b) orally fed controls fasted for 20 h, and (c) after 7 days of total parenteral nutrition. Biliary bile acid concentration (35.4 +/- 2.5 mM) and secretion (253 +/- 20.0 mumol/100 g body wt.24 h) increased significantly in the rats on TPN and the rats fasted for 20 h (38.8 +/- 2.5 and 243 +/- 23.4 mM, respectively) when compared with the orally fed controls (26.5 +/- 2.5 and 178 +/- 23.5 mM, respectively). Bile flow, however, was unchanged. Bile acid pool size (Eriksson washout technique) also increased from 43.4 +/- 3.0 mumol/100 g body wt in the controls to 50.5 +/- 4.8 in the group fasted for 20 h and 65.6 +/- 5.3 in the TPN group (p less than 0.05-0.01). Similar bile acid pool sizes (carcass extraction method) were found in the nonfistulated animals. Biliary cholesterol secretion and saturation were significantly less in the TPN rats than in the other two groups. Liver microscopy indicated only minimal fatty change, but serum bile acid and alkaline phosphatase levels were increased in the TPN group (p less than 0.05). Thus, during TPN bile acids stagnate within the enterohepatic circulation, increasing biliary bile acid concentration and secretion rates and expanding the pool size. However, the absence of an associated choleresis, together with abnormal liver function tests, suggest that alterations in bile acid metabolism cause a relative cholestasis in this model.

Effect of pectin, wheat bran and cellulose on serum lipids and lipoproteins in rats fed on a low- or high-fat diet

1. Four groups of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed for 6 weeks on a diet with a low-fat content (50 g/kg) and another four groups were given a diet rich in fat (250 g/kg) and cholesterol (12 g/kg). In both cases, the basal diets were either fibre-depleted or supplemented with cellulose (60 g/kg), wheat bran (100 g/kg) or low-methoxyl pectin (100 g/kg). 2. Low-methoxyl pectin displayed the most hypocholesterolaemic effect and decreased the cholesterol content of the very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL), when the low-fat diet was given. When rats were fed on the high-fat diet, pectin no longer had a hypocholesterolaemic effect but still decreased the VLDL-cholesterol content. Pectin lowered serum triglyceride and VLDL-triglyceride levels only when the low-fat diet was given. 3. Wheat bran exerted no hypocholesterolaemic effect in rats fed on the low- and high-fat diets, but decreased the cholesterol content of VLDL and lowered serum triglycerides and VLDL-triglycerides when the high-fat diet was given. 4. Purified cellulose had no significant effect on plasma lipids. 5. As shown by multivariance analysis, low-methoxyl pectin and wheat bran both beneficially modified the serum triglyceride and cholesterol variables except VLDL-triglycerides. However, the magnitude of the effect of each individual type of fibre was dependent on the fat and cholesterol content of the diet, suggesting the existence of different mechanisms of action.

Influence of the intake and composition of elemental diets on bile acid metabolism and hepatic lipids in the rat

The effects of the elemental diets Vivonex (V) and Flexical (F) on bile acid metabolism and hepatic lipids in the rat has been investigated both with ad libitum feeding and when calorie intake was limited to that of control rats (C) fed a standard diet (Oxoid 41B). Ad libitum feeding of V and F for 9 weeks resulted in a weight gain in excess of that for the control diet. After 9 weeks of isocaloric feeding the V-fed rats were significantly lighter than those fed F and C. Fecal bile acid excretion (FBA) and the fractional turnover rates for cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDC) were measured. The elemental diets significantly reduced FBA when fed both ad libitum and isocalorically compared with the control diet, the reduction with V being significantly greater than for F. In the isocaloric feeding study both elemental diets significantly increased the half life of CA and CDC. The increase for CA was significantly greater for V than F but for CDC the effect of the two diets was the same. Thus the percentage of CDC-derived 6 substituted bile acids was greater with V than F feeding. There was a strong negative correlation between bile acid half-life and fecal excretion of metabolites for the three dietary groups indicating that bile acid pool size was unchanged by the elemental diets. A gross increase in liver lipid both histologically and chemically was found for the ad libitum fed V rats with a marked but lesser increase for F.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cooperative formation of omega-muricholic acid by intestinal microorganisms

Three anaerobic bacteria, isolated from the ceca of rats and mice, converted, through a concerted mechanism, beta-muricholic acid, the predominant bile acid in germfree rats, into omega-muricholic acid. One isolate was a Eubacterium lentum strain; the second and third isolates were tentatively identified as atypical Fusobacterium sp. strains. The conversion of beta-muricholic acid into omega-muricholic acid proceeded in two steps: E. lentum oxidized the 6 beta-hydroxyl group of beta-muricholic acid to a 6-oxo group, which was reduced by either of the two other species to a 6 alpha-hydroxyl group, yielding omega-muricholic acid. This transformation occurred both in vitro and in gnotobiotic rats. Monoassociation of germfree rats with the E. lentum strain gave rise to an unidentified fecal bile acid, probably a derivative of beta-muricholic acid having a double bond in the side chain.

The effects of gum arabic, wheat offal and various of its fractions on the metabolism of 14C-labelled aflatoxin B1 in the male weanling rat

1. Male weanling rats were given for extended periods diets containing gum arabic or wheat offal or various offal fractions. The fractions included two lipid fractions, a water-soluble extract and a modified-acid-detergent (MAD)-fibre extract. The diets contained either low concentrations of aflatoxin B1 (induced rats) or were free from this source of aflatoxin (non-induced rats). The distribution of 14C was then studied after the rats received 14C-labelled aflatoxin B1 in their feed. Blood plasma concentrations of triglycerides, and total cholesterol were also measured. 2. Gum arabic and wheat offal accelerated the rate of passage of 14C through the small intestine and wheat offal very considerably decreased retention time in the large intestine. Both fibre sources increased faecal bulk. However, only wheat offal decreased liver and urinary accumulation of 14C and the effect could be explained entirely by the MAD-fibre fraction of wheat offal. 3. The possible induction of either microsomal enzymes unrelated to the production of mutagenic aflatoxin metabolites, or of extramicrosomal enzymes is discussed; but it is concluded that the main effect brought about by wheat offal on the toxicity and carcinogenicity of aflatoxin can be attributed to a direct influence of the MAD fibre fraction of wheat offal on the intestinal absorption of aflatoxin B1. 4. The relevance of these conclusions to drug safety studies is discussed, because comparable studies may yield differing results, despite a use of diets having the same nutrient composition but differing ingredient composition.

The effect of dietary protein source and saponins on serum lipids and the excretion of bile acids and neutral sterols in rabbits

1. Four groups of six rabbits were given purified diets in which the dietary variables were protein source (isolated soya-bean protein or cow's-milk protein) with or without saponin supplementation (10 g/kg). 2. Rabbits given soya-based diets showed significantly lower serum concentrations of triglyceride and cholesterol (P less than 0.01). The latter changes were confined to the cholesterol fractions of beta-lipoproteins. 3. These changes in serum cholesterol were associated with a significantly increased excretion of acid and neutral sterols in animals given soya-bean protein. 4. There was no evidence to suggest that the effect of dietary protein source on serum lipids and the excretion of total and individual sterols was influenced by saponin supplementation. 5. These results do not support the hypothesis that the hypocholesterolaemia associated with plant proteins is due to the presence of saponins.