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Effect of Dietary Lactose at Levels Comparable to Human Consumption on Cholesterol and Bile Acid Metabolism of Conventional and Germfree Rats¹

Lobund Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556

In recent years, the use of milk products and the concomitant intake of lactose have been tentatively linked to the etiology of cardiovascular disease. An effect of lactose on the microbial modification of acid and neutral sterols has been suggested. In the present study, lactose intake, ranging up to 30% of total diet increased ß-muricholic (ß-MC) but not cholic acid concentrations in conventional (CV) rat small intestine to the extent that at the 20% and 30% intake level, the intestinal cholic:ß-MC ratio approached that in germ-free (GF) rats. Total intestinal bile acid (BA) content increased by approximately , but remained at less than half the value found in GF rats. At lactose intake levels within a range corresponding to the consumption of dairy products often recommended for adult man (5% to 10%) only moderate changes in intestinal, and little change in fecal BA were found during and after the 3 months experimental period. Intestinal ß-MC was increased in the presence and in the absence of an intestinal microflora. Experiments with GF rats fed 10% lactose or 10% maltose indicated that this increase is evoked similarly by both carbohydrates. The slight increase in serum cholesterol levels seen with disaccharide feeding, which became evident only in the GF rats, was again not specific for lactose. No influence was found of lactose feeding on liver cholesterol values. Comparison of CV rats fed nonsterile and radiation-sterilized lactose-containing diets suggested that this mode of sterilization has only a minor influence on the resulting data. When GF experiments are to be incorporated, sterilization of diet by irradiation with 3.5 to 4.0 x 10⁶ Rad is preferable to autoclaving. The present data indicate that no major effect specifically related to a normal dietary intake of lactose on cholesterol and BA metabolism of the adult rat could be demonstrated for the duration of these experiments.

KEY WORDS: • lactose • cholesterol • bile acids • germ-free rats

¹ Supported by grants from the Fannle E. Rippel Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health; RR 00640-04, HL08351-09, and AI12593-02.

Manuscript received 2 April 1976.