Hypocholesterolemic effects of protein concentrates from three Chinese indigenous legume seeds

The hypocholesterolemic effect of the protein concentrates (PCs) prepared from Phaseolus angularis, Phaseolus calcaratus, and Dolichos lablab seeds relative to that of casein were studied in hamsters. Male Golden Syrian hamsters were fed test diets containing these proteins at 12% level for 30 days. As compared with casein, the three legume PCs produced significantly lower (p < 0.05) levels of triglyceride and total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood serum as well as lower liver total lipids and cholesterol contents, except that P. angularis PC gave a only nonsignificantly slight decrease in the serum total cholesterol. Moreover, only the PC of P. calcaratus gave a significantly higher (p < 0.05) level of serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Generally, the PCs of P. calcaratus and D. lablab seemed to be more potent at lowering raised serum cholesterol levels than that of P. angularis.