Citations: 1-2
<1>
Authors
Cara L. Borel P. Armand M. Senft M. Lafont H. Portugal H. Pauli AM.
Boulze D. Lacombe C. Lairon D.
Institution
Unite 130-INSERM (Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale),
Marseille, France.
Title
Plasma lipid lowering effects of wheat germ
in hypercholesterolemic subjects.
Source
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition. 41(2):135-50, 1991 Apr.
Abstract
The present study was performed to investigate the possible effects of
wheat germ supplementation on lipid
metabolism in humans. Ten free-living adult subjects participated in the
study. None was obese or diabetic. They all presented an
hypercholesterolemia (from 6.58 to 9.50 mM), associated in 6
over 10 cases to an hypertriglyceridemia (from 1.70 to 5.00 mM). The subjects
were studied in three consecutive periods, during which they first were on
their usual diet (first week), they then ingested a daily supplement of 30 g
wheat germ (4 weeks) and then they returned
to their usual basal diet (4 weeks follow-up). Dietary records were obtained
for 7 and 3 consecutive days before and during wheat
germ supplementation, respectively. Fasting blood samples
were taken at the end of each period. After 4 weeks of wheat
germ intake, glycemia did not change while total plasma
cholesterol significantly decreased (paired Student's t
test, p less than or equal to 0.05) from 7.80 to 7.15 mM. LDL and HDL
cholesterol values did not show marked changes, but VLDL
cholesterol significantly dropped by 40.6%. Thus, the
plasma/HDL total cholesterol ratio was significantly lower.
Apoprotein B and A1 decreased. In the hypertriglyceridemic subjects, this was
accompanied by a significant reduction of plasma triglycerides (1.64 vs. 2.68
mM) and a marked drop of VLDL triglycerides (-51%). Taken as a whole, the
present results obtained in humans are very close to those previously
obtained in the rat and point out that wheat
germ may play a beneficial role in the dietary management of
hyperlipidemia.
<2>
Authors
Lairon D. Lacombe C. Borel P. Corraze G. Nibbelink M. Chautan M.
Chanussot F. Lafont H.
Title
Beneficial effect of wheat germ on
circulating lipoproteins and tissue lipids in rats fed a high fat,
cholesterol-containing diet.
Source
Journal of Nutrition. 117(5):838-45, 1987 May.
Abstract
Adult male rats were fed for 7 wk either a low fat diet (3% fat) or a high
fat-cholesterol diet (20% fat, 0.5%
cholesterol) containing 7% wheat
germ or not. Body weights and food intakes were unchanged by
adding wheat germ to the control low fat or
high fat diets. Adding wheat germ to the
high fat-cholesterol diet significantly increased high
density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and the HDL-serum
cholesterol ratio and lowered the very low density
lipoprotein (VLDL) triglycerides. Thus the lipoprotein pattern was comparable
to that obtained with the low fat diet, but the VLDL lipid composition
remained altered. At the same time, triglyceride and
cholesterol accumulation in the liver and the triglyceride
content in skin were significantly decreased. When wheat
germ was added to the low fat diet,
cholesterol and triglycerides were not significantly
modified. No adaptative change in lipase and colipase contents was observed
in the pancreas of rats fed the wheat
germ-supplemented diets, whereas the high fat diet increased
these values. The results show a beneficial effect of wheat
germ added to a high fat-cholesterol diet
on the lipid status of rats; the implicated mechanisms are yet to be
elucidated.