Production of Hypercholesterolemia and Atherosclerosis by a Diet Rich in Shellfish

Abstract

A diet supplemented with shrimp was fed to rabbits for 24 weeks. These animals promptly developed a sustained hypercholesterolemia, averaging 795 mg/100 ml at the conclusion of the study. At autopsy, all rabibts had evidence of aortic atherosclerosis. In most, the process involved large areas of the intimal surface. The analysis of aortae for cholesterol content provided a more quantitative expression of the presence of atherosclerosis. Aortic cholesterol in the shrimp-fed rabbits was as much as 60 times greater than that in control rabbits. Shrimp and other crustaceans contain large amounts of cholesterol. The results of this study re-emphasize that cholesterol-rich foods produce experimental atherosclerosis. Recent work has shown that dietary cholesterol has an important influence upon human serum lipid levels. Thus diets designed to prevent or treat human atherosclerosis probably should be restricted in shrimp and other sea foods high in cholesterol content.