ARS | Publication request: PLASMA CHOLESTEROL REDUCTION IN HAMSTERS BY DIETARY FIBER FRACTIONS OF OAT AND BARLEY

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: April 6, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Soluble dietary fibers composed of nonstarch plant polysaccharides, including B-glucans from oat and barley, are known to reduce plasma cholesterol. Viscosity, a property of linear soluble polymers, is thought to be correlated with plasma cholesterol reduction potential. Higher polymer molar mass is usually related to higher viscosity for the same type eof linear polymers. B-glucans of widely varying molar mass prepared from oat and barley by selective extraction, gamma irradiation, or mechanical shear were fed to hypercholesterolemic hamsters. Generally, plasma cholesterol was correlated with amount of B-glucan rather than polymer size. However, plasma cholesterol reduction was greater by Oatrim, a processed B-glucan product from oats, than other sources of B-glucan.