The aims of this study were to investigate effects of β-glucan on body weight gain, food intake, food conversion ratio and serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) and triglyceride levels in female rats fed hypercholesterolemic diet. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (8-weeks-old) weighing 161.78±3.88 g were divided into three equal groups. Group 1 (control) was fed basal diet (2% liquid-vegetable oil, 0% cholesterol), group 2 was fed high-cholesterol diet (2% liquid- vegetable oil, 15% hydrogenated-oil and 1.5% cholesterol) and group 3 was fed high-cholesterol diet with 1% β-glucan. The trial period was 30 days. Blood samples were withdrawn on days 0 and 30. Also, all rats were weighed on same days. Serum total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels were detected with commercial kits by auto-analyzer. Body weight gain, food intake and food conversion ratio, and serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels were significantly lower (P<0.05) in group 3 (the group fed fatty and added β-glucan) than in the other two groups. Serum HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels were not significant between all groups at the end of the study. β-glucan supplementation negatively affected food intake. However, β-glucan effectively lowered serum LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol concentrations without affecting HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Therefore, β-glucan may decrease the cholesterol synthesizing ability of liver and the risk for atherosclerotic vascular disease.

Key words: β-glucan, Cholesterol, Hypercholesterolemic rat, Lipoprotein