Rice protein level affects cholesterol metabolism

To examine the cholesterol-lowering potential of rice protein at different dietary levels, 20-week-old male Wistar rats were fed cholesterol-free diets containing 14% rice protein (RP) or 28% rice protein (RP-H) and 14% casein (CAS) for 2 weeks. Compared with CAS, RP and RP-H exhibited the significant hypocholesterolemic action in adult rats, reflected mainly the significantly diminished contents of non-HDL cholesterol. Hepatic total cholesterol, particularly esterified cholesterol accumulation, was significantly lowered in adult rats fed RP and RP-H than those fed CAS. Fecal neutral sterol excretions were stimulated with the increasing RP level. As a result, the apparent cholesterol absorption was effectively inhibited with the increasing RP level. These results demonstrate that dietary level of RP can regulate cholesterol metabolism and plays a major role in the modulation of cholesterol absorption.