Effect of Dietary Carbohydrates and Aureomycin on Serum and Liver Cholesterol in Rats

Abstract

The effects of certain dietary carbohydrates and of Aureomycin on serum and liver cholesterol and on liver fat were studied in young rats. The diets differed as to their content of cholesterol and cholic acid. Incorporation into the diet of cholesterol and/or cholic acid induced an enlargement of the liver which is the result of deposition of fat as well as of an increase of liver cytoplasm. Generally, starch in the diet led to higher levels of liver fat and cholesterol than sucrose or dextrose; sucrose lowered liver cholesterol. The effect of carbohydrates on serum cholesterol, liver fat and nitrogen depended on the presence of steroids in the diet. Supplementation with Aureomycin or replacement of 10% of starch by sorbitol resulted in an increase of liver cholesterol in most dietary combinations. It seems at present not possible to postulate a mechanism by which carbohydrates or Aureomycin act on cholesterol metabolism.