TITLE:
β-Glucan Fiber from Spent Brewer’s Yeast Reduces Early Atherosclerosis Greater Than Psyllium in Hypercholesterolemic Syrian Golden Hamsters
AUTHORS:
Thomas A. Wilson, Damian A. Barbato, Robert J. Nicolosi
KEYWORDS:
β-Glucan Fiber; Plasma Cholesterol; Aortic Fatty Streak; Psyllium; Hamsters
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.4 No.5,
May
15,
2013
ABSTRACT: β-Glucans, mostly from oats, have been
shown to reduce blood concentrations of total and LDL-cholesterol in animals
and humans. After processing, spent brewer’s yeast, a by-product of the
fermentation process, contains 85% - 90% β-glucans.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of yeast-derived β-glucan fiber on plasma lipids and
early atherosclerosis development in hamsters consuming a semi-purified
hypercholesterolemic diet (HCD). Animals were fed either the HCD or the HCD
containing psyllium or β-glucan fiber from yeast for 12 weeks. Both the psyllium
and β-glucan fiber from yeast showed significant decreases in plasma total
cholesterol, non-HDL-C, triacylglycerol, and aortic fatty streak area when
compared to the HCD. Also, the β-glucan fiber from yeast had significantly less
aortic fatty streak area compared to the psyllium diet. Findings from this
study show that while both β-glucan fiber from yeast and psyllium produced
similar reductions in plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, the β-glucan
fiber from yeast prevented
the development early atherosclerosis better than psyllium in the hamsters.