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Soluble polysaccharide and biomass of red microalga Porphyridium sp. alter intestinal morphology and reduce serum cholesterol in rats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Irit Dvir ,
Reuven Chayoth ,
Uriel Sod-Moriah ,
Shraga Shany ,
Abraham Nyska ,
Aliza H. Stark ,
Zecharia Madar  and
Shoshana Malis Arad
Irit Dvir
Affiliation:
The Institute for Applied Biosciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
Reuven Chayoth
Affiliation:
Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
Uriel Sod-Moriah
Affiliation:
Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
Shraga Shany
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Clinical Biochemistry Unit, and Soroka University Hospital of Kupat-Holim, Toor Institute, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
Abraham Nyska
Affiliation:
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Aliza H. Stark
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, Institute of Biochemistry, Food Sciences and Nutrition, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Zecharia Madar*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, Institute of Biochemistry, Food Sciences and Nutrition, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, PO Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Shoshana Malis Arad
Affiliation:
The Institute for Applied Biosciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
*
*Corresponding author: Professor Zecharia Madar, present address Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, Institute of Biochemistry, Food Sciences and Nutrition, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel, fax +972 8 9363208, email madar@agri.huji.ac.il
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Abstract

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The present study investigated the effects of the red microalga Porphyridium sp. on gastrointestinal physiology and lipid metabolism in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Diets containing dietary fibre from pelleted red microalgal cells (biomass) or their sulfated polysaccharide, pectin or cellulose (control) were fed to rats for a period of 30 d. All three fibre-supplemented diets increased the length of both the small intestine and colon, with a significantly greater effect in rats fed the algal polysaccharide. The polysaccharide also increased mucosa and muscularis cross-sectional area of the jejunum, and caused hypertrophy in the muscularis layer. The algal biomass significantly lowered gastrointestinal transit time by 44 % in comparison with the control rats. Serum and mucosal cholecystokinin levels were lower in rats on the pectin and polysaccharide diets, while cholecystokinin levels in rats fed algal biomass were not different from those in the control animals. In comparison with the control diet, all the experimental diets significantly lowered serum cholesterol levels (22–29 %). Feeding of non-fermentable algal polysaccharide or biomass significantly increased faecal weight and bile acid excretion compared with pectin-fed or control rats. The algal polysaccharide and biomass were thus shown to be potent hypocholesterolaemic agents active at low concentrations in the diet. Both metabolic and morphological changes were observed following consumption of algae, suggesting several possible mechanisms by which the alga affects lipid metabolism. The results presented in the present study encourage the use of red microalga as a functional food.

Keywords

Dietary fibreRed microalgaCholesterolImage analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 84 , Issue 4 , October 2000 , pp. 469 - 476
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2000

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