Plasma and Hepatic Cholesterol Levels and Fecal Neutral Sterol Excretion Are Altered in Hamsters Fed Straw Mushroom Diets

Manuscript received 8 September 1997. Initial reviews completed 3 November 1997. Revision accepted 19 May 1998.

Department of Biology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong

The effect of the fruiting body and mycelium of Volvariella volvacea (straw mushroom) on the concentrations of plasma lipids, liver cholesterol, fecal neutral sterol and bile acid excretions was investigated in male Golden Syrian hamsters. The hamsters were fed a purified hypercholesterolemic diet (0.1% cholesterol, 10% fat) for 4 wk to elevate plasma lipid concentrations. Twelve hamsters with elevated plasma total cholesterol were randomly assigned to each treatment group: control (5% cellulose), mushroom fruiting body (5%) and mushroom mycelium (5%). After 4 wk of mushroom diet consumption, the plasma total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and combined VLDL + LDL cholesterol concentrations (mmol/L) were significantly lower than control in the group fed the fruiting body-diet (40, 38 and 43%, respectively) (P < 0.05). The liver cholesterol levels were significantly lower in both the mushroom fruiting body- and the mycelium-fed groups (28 and 21% in terms of concentration; 39 and 30% in terms of total content, respectively) (P < 0.05) than that in the control group. Fecal neutral sterol excretion in the mushroom fruiting body- and mycelium-fed groups was significantly higher (81 and 74%, respectively) (P < 0.05) than that in the control group. Although no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the excretion of fecal bile acids were observed among groups fed the mushroom diets and the control diet, the mushroom fruiting body diet-fed hamsters apparently had less bacterial degradation of cholic acid as indicated by a significantly greater proportion (P < 0.05) of fecal cholic acid than in controls. They also had a significantly lower proportion of fecal deoxycholic acid (P < 0.05). This study suggests that the fruiting body of the straw mushroom lowers elevated plasma cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic hamsters, whereas the mycelium does not.

The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 128 No. 9 September 1998, pp. 1512-1516
Copyright ©1998 by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences

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