Effect of various dietary fats and proteins on serum cholesterol level in rats

A 60 day experiment on growing rats was performed to evaluate the effect of two protein sources (casein and soybean protein isolate) and four fats (olive oil, OO; evening primrose oil, EO; linseed oil, LO; and butter, B) on plasma lipoprotein fractions: total cholesterol (TC), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) and triacylglycerol (TAG) levels. The different protein and fat sources had no influence on body weight gain of rats. Fats had no significant effect on TC and LDL‐C. Significant differences were found only in HDL‐C. OO gave the lowest (43.3 mg dl^?1) and EO the highest (54.4 mg dl^?1) value. Proteins had a significant influence on all lipids analysed. Soybean protein caused higher TC (78.5 vs 67.9 mg dl^?1), HDL‐C and TAG levels but significantly lowered LDL‐C in the plasma of rats. These results suggest that protein has a stronger effect on cholesterol level than fat. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry