The capacity of short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides to stimulate faecal bifidobacteria: a dose-response relationship study in healthy humans

Background  

Short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) are well-known for their bifidogenicity. In a large study comprising 200 healthy volunteers, we determined the bifidogenic properties of 7 non-digestible carbohydrates administered at a dose of 10 g/d in the diet; we analysed dose-response relationships of the bifidogenic substrates at doses ranging from 2.5 to 10 g/d in comparison with a placebo. The aim of this presentation is to give more details about the dose-response effects of short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS).     

Oral polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine reduces platelet lipid and cholesterol contents in healthy volunteers

The effects of orally administered polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine (PPC) on plasma lipids, lipoproteins and platelet function and composition were studied in seven healthy male volunteers. PPC (Nattermann & Cie, GmbH, Cologne, Federal Republic of Germany), 10 g/day, was given for a 6-week period after a 4-week wash out; laboratory tests were repeated after a further 4-week period after the end of treatment. PPC did not appear, during treatment, to modify the levels of plasma total cholesterol and triglycerides. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels were, however, increased after six weeks of PPC. The most dramatic changes occurred in platelet membrane composition: the total lipid/total protein and the cholesterol/protein ratios were reduced significantly, whereas increases of the phospholipid/total lipid ratio and of the linoleic acid membrane content were observed. Platelet function tests, both in whole blood and in platelet rich plasma, were not modified. Similarly, the thromboxane B₂ formation after standard stimuli and the sensitivity to exogenous prostaglandin I₂ also were unchanged. During the final wash out period following treatment, a reduction of plasma total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels also was recorded. PPC appears to be capable of modulating lipid exchanges between cell membranes and the plasma compartment.     

Effectiveness of resistant starch,compared to guar gum,in depressing plasma cholesterol and enhancing fecal steroid excretion

Amylase-resistant starch (RS) represents a substrate that can be administered in substantial amounts in the diet, in contrast to gel-forming polysaccharides, such as guar gum (GG). The aim of this work was thus to compare the effects of GG and RS on cholesterol metabolism in rats adapted to 0.4% cholesterol diets, using dietary GG or RS levels (8 or 20%, respectively) that led to a similar development of fermentations, as assessed by the degree of enlargement of the cecum. The RS diet elicited a marked rise in the cecal pool of short-chain fatty acids, especially acetic and butyric acid, whereas the GG diet favored high-propionic acid fermentations. Both polysaccharides markedly altered the cholesterol excretion, from 50% of ingested cholesterol in controls, up to about 70% in rats adapted to the RS or GG diets. With these diets, the fecal excretion of bile acids was enhanced (67 and 144% with the RS and GG diets, respectively). RS and GG diets were effective in lowering plasma cholesterol (about −40%) and triglycerides (−36%). There was practically no effect of the diets on cholesterol in d>1.040 lipoproteins (high density lipoproteins), whereas RS (and to a larger extent, GG) were very effective to depress cholesterol in d<1.040 lipoproteins (especially in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins). Fermentable polysaccharides counteracted the accumulation of cholesterol in the liver, especially cholesterol esters. In parallel, liver acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase was depressed in rats fed the RS or GG diets, whereas only the GG diet counteracted the downregulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA by cholesterol. These data suggest that RS may be practically as effective as a gel-forming gum, such as GG, on steroid excretion and on cholesterol metabolism.     

Failure to demonstrate degradation of [4-14C] cholesterol to volatile hydrocarbons in rats and in human fecal homogenates

The inability of previous workers to recover completely the radioactivity from ingested [4-14C] cholesterol has led to the hypothesis that the colonic flora of some individuals degrade the sterol nucleus to volatile hydrocarbons, particularly CH4. In the present investigation, the production of radioactive volatiles was measured following incubation of [4-14C] cholesterol with 8 human fecal homogenates or after instillation of the labeled sterol into the cecum of 3 rats housed in a closed rebreathing system. Three of the 8 homogenates and each of the 3 rats produced copious CH4. However, analysis by combustion demonstrated no radioactivity above background in the volatile headspace of the homogenates or the gas space of the closed system housing the rats, indicating that less than 0.001% of the number 4 carbon of [4-14C] cholesterol could have been converted to volatile hydrocarbons. This study, therefore, provides no support for the concept that volatile products account for the incomplete recovery of ingested sterols observed in certain subjects. However, this hypothesis can not be excluded entirely until similar results are obtained with subjects who can be shown to degrade cholesterol.     

Coffee bean extracts rich and poor in kahweol both give rise to elevation of liver enzymes in healthy volunteers

Background  

Coffee oil potently raises serum cholesterol levels in humans. The diterpenes cafestol and kahweol are responsible for this elevation. Coffee oil also causes elevation of liver enzyme levels in serum. It has been suggested that cafestol is mainly responsible for the effect on serum cholesterol levels and that kahweol is mainly responsible for the effect on liver enzyme levels. The objective of this study was to investigate whether coffee oil that only contains a minute amount of kahweol indeed does not cause elevation of liver enzyme levels.