EFFECTS OF DIETARY CALCIUM UPON LIPID METABOLISM IN RATS FED STAURATED OR UNSATURATED FAT

To study the effects of varying the degree of saturation of dietary fat upon the hypolipemic action of elevated dietary Ca, mature male rats were fed cocoa butter or corn oil with 0.08, 0.2 and 1.2% dietary Ca for 3 weeks. The previously reported hypocholesterolemic and hypotriglyceridemic effects of Ca were observed with both fats. Corn oil significantly elevated serum bile acids. At the 0.08% Ca level, corn oil caused a significantly increased deposition of lipid in the liver and triglycerides in the lung as compared with cocoa butter. Increased dietary Ca tended to reverse this deposition. Although fecal total lipids and bile acids increased significantly with both fats at the 1.2% Ca level, fecal lipid P and 3-[beta]-hydroxysterol excretion increased only in the presence of cocoa butter. Corn oil caused the excretion of significantly less fecal total lipids than cocoa butter. Ca was hypolipemic in rats fed either fat; however, the effects of Ca were more pronounced in the presence of saturated fat.