Changes in Plasma Free Amino Acid Concentrations in Human Subjects on Hypocholesteremic Diets

Abstract

The effects of several isofatty hypocholesteremic diets, differing in amino acid composition from control diets were explored in four studies on three human subjects. Changes in serum lipid and plasma free amino acid concentrations were determined in efforts to elucidate the mechanism of the cholesterol-lowering effect of these diets. The results indicate that both the low protein and the amino acid-formula diets alter the plasma free amino acid concentration. Both diets produce an increase in the ratio of nonessential to essential amino acids in the plasma. However, this change alone does not explain the hypocholesteremic action of these diets. The plasma aminograms suggest that none of the LDL and cholesterol-lowering diets exert their effects by altering the availability of amino acids to the liver for apopeptide biosynthesis.