Pectin cholesterol lowering influence

Cholesterol Lowering Influence of Pectin Several Investigators (7-9) have clearly suggested that pectin when supplemented In the diet of laboratory animals and/or human volunteers causes significant reduction In serum cholesterol levels. This, Indeed, Is an Important observation, as It has been shown that the etiology of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease Is associated with elevated serum cholesterol levels, and the observed reduction of serum cholesterol level by pectin holds promise for the treatment and/or prevention of these diseases. It Is relevant here to point out that dietary pectin has shown to retard Induced avian atherosclerosis (10). 

The effectiveness of pectin in lowering cholesterol in tissues can be influenced by many factors (1) The type of pectin - that with methoxy groups and with high viscosity (35, 36) was reported to be more effective. The results from a comparative study of several types of pectin by Mokady (36) are shown in Table IV. Neither a high degree of methylation nor high-viscosity alone was very effective (2) the level of dietary fat - with a high-fat diet (2% corn oil plus 18% beef tallow), pectin has no effect on serum cholesterol level (57). Tsai et al. also reported that with... 

In our laboratory, we have observed that pectin increased cholesterol ester excretion in rats fed a cholesterol-containing diet (26). An early report ( ] indicated that fecal excretion of endogenous cholesterol ester could be influenced by the type of fat. Polyunsaturated fat (com oil] as compared with saturated fat (lard] accelerated cholesterol ester, but not total cholesterol excretion (27). It was suggested that, under certain circumstances, cholesterol ester excretion was one of the major pathways of cholesterol catabolism and a process for lowering body cholesterol and might explain why corn oil lowers serum... 

Dietary fiber may influence lipidemia and atherosclerosis. Substances designated as insoluble fibers (wheat bran, for instance) possess laxative properties but have little effect on serum lipid levels. Soluble fibers (gel-forming fibers such as pectin or guar gum) influence lipidemia and glycemia. Oat bran, which contains /3-glucans, which are soluble fibers, will lower cholesterol levels despite its designation. 

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