Cholesterol pectin

Matheson, H. B., Colon, I. S., and Story, J. A. (1995). Cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase activity is increased by dietary modification with psyllium hydrocolloid, pectin, cholesterol and cholestyramine in rats. /. Nutr. 125,454-M58. 

Pectin, the substance that makes jellies and jams so jelly-like, can help lower blood cholesterol levels by forcing the body to make more bile acids. Pectin is a type of fiber, and like most fiber, pectin cannot be digested by the human body. Instead, the fiber moves slowly through the small intestines. When pectin encounters sugar and acid, its molecules trap water within its long chains, turning into a gel-like mass. This gel traps and eventually eliminates bile acids from the gut. When this happens, the body must make more bile acids, reducing the amount of cholesterol in the blood. 

Pectin is found in apples and in the white membrane that surrounds the sections of oranges, grapefruits, or other citrus fruits, as well as in several other sources. Powdered pectin made from apple cores is also available, but scientists have found that eating apples or citrus fruit has a much better effect on lowering blood cholesterol levels than eating powered pectin does. They believe eating the whole fruit is better because the body also needs vitamin C to convert cholesterol into bile acids. Fruits contain vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, but the powdered pectin does not. 

Fernandez LM, Lin ECK, Trejo A and McNamara DJ. 1994. Prickly pear (Opuntia sp.) pectin alters hepatic cholesterol metabolism without affecting cholesterol absorption in guinea pigs fed a hypercholesterolemic diet. J Nutt 124 817-824. 

Koseki M, Tsuji K, Nakagawa Y, Kawamura M, Ichikawa T, Kazama M, Kitabatake N and Doi E. 1989. Effects of gum Arabic and pectin on die emulsification, the lipase reaction and die plasma cholesterol... 

Increased intake of soluble fiber in the form of oat bran, pectins, certain gums, and psyllium products can result in useful adjunctive reductions in total and LDL cholesterol (5% to 20%), but these dietary alterations or supplements should not be substituted for more active forms of treatment. They have little or no effect on HDL-C or triglyceride concentrations. These products may also be useful in managing constipation associated with the bile acid resins (BARs). 

Furthermore, addition of lysine to soy protein markedly increased the rate of lipid absorption and addition of arginine to casein slowed lipid absorption. The slowed absorption of lipids in animals fed soy protein is similar to that reported for soluble fibers such as pectin and guar gum that act to lower serum cholesterol concentrations in a number of animal species, including humans. 

Sometimes natural fine chemicals are by-products in bulk products refining. Examples are (a) lecithin and steroids in vegetable oil refining (b) betaine, pectin and raffinose in sugar manufacture (c) quinic acid in quinine extraction of the bark of Cinchona trees (d) chitin and the red pigment asthaxanthin in lobster and shrimp processing and (e) lanolin, lanosterol and cholesterol in sheep wool purification. 

Terpstra, A. H. M., Lapre, J. A., de Vries, H. T., and Beynen, A. C. (1998). Dietary pectin with high viscosity lowers plasma and liver cholesterol concentration and plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity in hamsters. /. Nutr. 128,1944-1949. 

The laboratory must be informed when the therapeutic regimens include drugs specifically administered to change the blood level of a biochemical constituent. Cholestyramine resin, a nonabsorbable anion exchange resin administered orally to patients with hyperlipoproteinemia produced a 24% decline in serum cholesterol levels in 14 patients with essential hypercholesterolemia. In these patients the mean cholesterol fell from 414 98 mg/100 ml to 176 21 mg/100 ml (FI). Pectin added to the diet caused a 5% decrease in serum cholesterol values (K4), as did an oral hydrophobic colloid (G4). Levels fell in one case from 220 mg/ 100 ml to 160 mg/100 ml (G4). Nicotinic acid, neomycin, and p-chloro-phenoxyisobutyrate have all been used to reduce serum cholesterol (G7). 

It has been known for some time that pectin reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood, and, more recently, a similar effect has been described for several galactomannans. They are also very useful in the treatment of diabetes as it has been shown by Jenkins et al. 24). 

A portion of fruits and vegetables should be consumed raw. Research indicates that pectin and bioflavonoids, natural parts of most fruits, lowers blood cholesterol levels more effectively than drugs. Both of these elements are found abundantly in impeded apples. There are many other positive reasons for eating some fruits and vegetables raw. 

Elevated serum cholesterol levels are invariably associated with the etiology of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease, and it has been shown by several investigators that pectin from a variety of sources when supplemented in the diet of a number of laboratory animals, as well as human volunteers, causes lowering... 

Does Citrus Pectin Bind Bile Salts A possible mechanism by which dietary pectin may cause lowering of cholesterol levels in rats has been reported (1 9). In these in vitro studies, pectin was found to inhibit the transport of taurocholic acid from everted sacs of rat intestine. The absorption of labelled cholesterol was depressed by the addition of 5% pectin to the diet as evidenced by increased excretion of labelled cholesterol and diminished cholesterol deposition in the liver. It was concluded from these studies that pectin lowers cholesterol levels in cholesterol-fed rats primarily by binding bile salts and, consequently, by impairing cholesterol absorption. Results similar to those obtained with dietary pectin and described have also been reported for other non-nutritive substances such as guar gum, psyllium seed colloid and seruglucan (20). 

Based on our knowledge of the facts that (a) lipoproteins are carriers of cholesterol in the blood stream, (b) they are involved in atherogenesis,(c) pectin when supplemented in diet causes lowering of serum and/or liver cholesterol in man as well as a number of laboratory animals and (d) polyanionic glycosaminoglycans interact with lipoproteins, it was of interest to us to investigate the interaction of polyanionic pectin with lipoproteins in order to explain the biochemical basis by which pectin may cause lowering of serum/liver cholesterol levels. 

The significance of the observed interaction between pectin and LDL, and further biochemical elucidation of this interaction, has direct relevance to the etiology and/or cure of atherosclerosis. The role of dietary pectin in lowering of serum and liver cholesterol levels is well established. However, the biochemical basis by which dietary pectin, which is composed of... 

Interest in pectin from a nutritional standpoint has increased with new evidence of its influence on several physiological processes. Long acknowledged as an effective antidote to diarrhea, pectin has now been found to be of possible benefit in control of cholesterol levels and in management of diabetes. As one of the richest potential sources of pectin, citrus fruits could enjoy enhanced nutritional status from these findings. 

In studying results from both chickens and man, Fisher et al. (67) concluded that pectin has a hypocholesterolemic effect only when fed with dietary cholesterol. On cholesterol-free diets, plasma cholesterol is not affected by dietary pectin. Subjects fed pectin with a cholesterol-containing diet had plasma cholesterol levels that were lower relative to those of subjects on the cholesterol control diet, but not relative to those of subjects on a cholesterol-free control diet. 

There are several ways pectin could reduce serum cholesterol. In studies with human subjects, fecal excretion of bile acids, fatty acids, and total steroids increased when subjects were fed 15-40 g/day of pectin (58, 63, 64). Since pectin usually lowers serum cholesterol only when cholesterol is present in the diet, it seems that pectin might act by reducing cholesterol absorption. Several groups have found that in rats dietary... 

Impairment of bile acid absorption and consequent loss of these acids via excretion presumably causes an increase in hepatic conversion of cholesterol to bile acids. This conversion lowers serum cholesterol, particularly when serum contains high levels of cholesterol derived from dietary intake. However, when fed with a cholesterol-free diet, 10% pectin supplementation stimulated a 3-fold increase in cholesterol biosynthesis (77). Biosynthesis of phospholipids and triglycerides also increased significantly hence, it was suggested that these increases occurred in response to diminished fat absorption occasioned by pectin intake. This compensatory biosynthesis of cholesterol and lipids may account for pectin s inability (in most cases) to lower serum cholesterol levels in animals fed cholesterol-free diets. 

Pectin with 62% D.E. largely counteracted the increase in liver cholesterol levels brought about by dietary cholesterol. Low ester pectin (30% D.E.), polygalacturonic acid (PGA), and 50% esterified PGA were all without effect. Conflicting reports on the efficacy of pectin as a hypocholesterolemic agent may be due to variations in these parameters. For example, citrus pectin was found to be more effective than tomato pectin in lowering serum and hepatic cholesterol levels of rats (79). 

D.E. values for the citrus and tomato pectins were 56 and 40%, respectively. Thus, differences in D.E. levels rather than pectin source could have accounted for the superior effectiveness of citrus pectin. Mokady (80) and Judd et al. (81) confirmed that serum cholesterol reduction is most pronounced with high D.E., high-molecular-weight pectin (Table I). 

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