Grain sorghum whole kernel oil lowers plasma and liver cholesterol in male hamsters with minimal wax involvement

Authors

Bo Hyun Lee, University of Nebraska–LincolnFollow
Thomas M. Carr, Unviersity of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Curtis Weller, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Susan L. Cuppett, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Ismail M. Dweikat, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Vicki Schlegel, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

Published in Journal of Functional Foods 7 (2014), pp 709–718. doi 10.1016/j.jff.2013.12.014

Comments

Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. Used by permission.

Abstract

The lipid fraction of the grain sorghum whole kernel (GS-WK) (i.e., phytosterol rich oil or policosanol rich wax) responsible for lowering cholesterol in hamsters fed the crude lipid (wax + oil) was determined. As expected, hamsters fed an atherogenic diet for a four week period presented with higher plasma non-HDL plasma and liver esterified cholesterol than those on the low fat diet. However, the atherogenic diet containing 5% (w/w) oil significantly lowered non-HDL plasma and liver cholesterol. Although the 5% wax supplement did not affect either plasma or liver cholesterol, excreted neutral sterol and bile acid were slightly higher than produced by the atherogenic diet. Still, cholesterol excretion negatively correlated with liver cholesterol concentration (r = –0.681, p < 0.001) across diets with the oil fraction producing the greatest impact. These combined results indicate that oil plays the most significant role in modulating cholesterol, most likely by inhibiting absorption, but subtle interactions by the wax may be involved. However, the sorghum oil would be the most potent component to serve as a possible heart health ingredient in functional foods.