Influence of Dietary Bile Salts on Blood Cholesterol Levels

Abstract

Different bile salts were fed to rats on high cholesterol-fat diets. The blood cholesterol increased markedly with the feeding of sodium cholate and taurocholate, somewhat less with the feeding of desoxycholate and no increase in those fed dehydrocholate. When Na dehydrocholate, taurocholate, and dehydrocholate were fed successively to the same animal, taurocholate increased the blood cholesterol markedly while dehydrocholate 1st had no effect and later lowered it. Apparently, the bile salts are necessary for cholesterol absorption because they are a necessary co-factor for cholesterol esterase activity.