LDL and apoB
High-viscosity pectin lowers plasma CETP activity along with cholesterol in hamsters (J Nutr 1998)
Original title: Dietary pectin with high viscosity lowers plasma and liver cholesterol concentration and plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity in hamsters
Hamsters were fed for 8 weeks with diets containing either a high-viscosity, calcium-sensitive pectin (CS-pectin), a low-viscosity, non-calcium-sensitive pectin (NCS-pectin), cellulose as control, or psyllium as a positive control, to test whether pectin viscosity drives its cholesterol-lowering effect. Hamsters fed CS-pectin or psyllium had markedly lower plasma cholesterol (3.69 and 4.21 mmol/L) than those fed NCS-pectin (5.03 mmol/L) or cellulose (5.72 mmol/L), with liver cholesterol concentrations following the same pattern and no effect on LDL cholesterol specifically. Plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity was significantly lower in hamsters fed CS-pectin than in those fed NCS-pectin. The results suggest that pectin viscosity, rather than pectin type alone, determines its cholesterol-lowering effect, with CETP activity tracking the same viscosity-dependent pattern as plasma and liver cholesterol.
Original abstract
We fed semipurified diets containing pectin with either a high or low in vitro viscosity at a level of 3 g/100 g air-dried diet to hamsters for 8 wk. A control group was fed cellulose and a positive control group was fed psyllium. The pectins used were a calcium-sensitive pectin (CS-pectin) that has a high viscosity and a noncalcium-sensitive pectin (NCS-pectin) that has a low viscosity. In the presence of calcium, CS-pectin has a more than 80-fold higher viscosity than NCS-pectin which offered the opportunity to investigate the possible role of viscosity in the hypolipidemic properties of pectin. The hamsters fed CS-pectin or psyllium had considerably lower plasma cholesterol concentrations (3.69 +/- 0.44 and 4.21 +/- 0.45 mmol/L, respectively, mean +/- SD, n = 14) than those fed NCS-pectin (5.03 +/- 1.15 mmol/L) or cellulose (5.72 +/- 1. 04 mmol/L). Differences in total plasma cholesterol were reflected in both high density lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol. There was no effect of fiber on low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Liver cholesterol concentrations paralleled the plasma cholesterol levels and were 9.91 +/- 2.48 micromol/g of liver for the CS-pectin group, 15.03 +/- 5.75 for the psyllium group, 17. 69 +/- 10.66 for the NCS-pectin group, and 25.57 +/- 9.23 for the cellulose group. Fecal bile acid and neutral steroid excretion tended to be higher in the hamsters fed CS-pectin than in their counterparts fed NCS-pectin. The hamsters fed psyllium had significantly greater fecal excretions of bile acids than the hamsters fed cellulose, CS-pectin or NCS-pectin, whereas the excretion of fecal neutral sterols tended to be lower. Plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity was significantly lower in the hamsters fed CS-pectin than in those fed NCS-pectin. The results of this study suggest that the viscosity of pectins may determine their cholesterolemic effect.
Summary written by cetpinhibition.org from the published abstract; figures as published. Page updated 19 August 2026. Methods.