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Oat Fiber: Composition versus Physiological Function in Rats¹

Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706

The effect of processing on the ability of oat fiber to lower plasma and liver cholesterol concentrations in rats was studied. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 6% dietary fiber as cellulose, oat bran, high fiber oat flour or one of four processed high fiber oat flours for 3 wk. All diets also contained 1.0% cholesterol and 0.2% cholic acid. At the conclusion plasma and liver concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides were measured. All of the oat products significantly lowered plasma and liver cholesterol without depressing food intake or weight gain. As little as 4% dietary fiber in a processed oat flour significantly lowered cholesterol concentrations. Detailed fiber analysis of all of the oat fiber products revealed that processing increased the proportion of the total fiber that was soluble. The proportions recovered as total ß-glucans and total neutral sugars also increased, in part because the proportion recovered as Klason lignin decreased in all of the processed oat flours except the one prepared by a high pressure extrusion process.

KEY WORDS: • dietary fiber • cholesterol • blood cholesterol • hepatic cholesterol • hypocholesterolemia

¹ Supported in part by Quaker Oats, Barrington, IL, National Institutes of Health Contract No. NO1-CN-45181, National Institutes of Health Grant No. DK21712 and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

² Present address: Quaker Oats, Barrington, IL 60010.

³ Author to whom reprint requests should be sent.

Manuscript received 24 June 1987. Revision accepted 5 October 1987.