Volume 91, Issue 5, May (2004), pp. 689-698 © The Author 2004
doi:10.1079/BJN20041102

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Effects of ileo-rectal anastomosis on cholesterol metabolism in pigs fed either casein or extruded soya beans

Ofélia P. Bento¹, José M. Martins¹, Maria J. Lança¹, Manuel C. de Abreu¹, Ana M. Viegas-Crespo², João P. B. Freire³, José A. A. Almeida¹ and Michel Riottot^4
1Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade de Évora, Apartado 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal
²CBA/Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa, Bloco C2, 3° Piso, 1740-016 , Lisboa, Portugal
³Departamento de Produção Agrícola e Animal, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 , Lisboa, Portugal
⁴Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Nutrition – INRA, Université Paris Sud, bâtiment 447, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France

 (Received 30 July 2003–Revised 17 December 2003–Accepted 14 January 2004)

The importance of legume proteins in cholesterol metabolism has been recognised, but the hindgut contribution is still unclear. The present work was undertaken to address the role of the caecum–colon in cholesterol metabolism in intact (I) and ileo-rectal anastomosed (IRA) pigs fed with casein or extruded soyabean (ES) diets. Four groups of six growing pigs were assigned to the treatments (casein–I, casein–IRA, ES–I, ES–IRA) for 3 weeks. Plasma total cholesterol, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol were not modified by surgery or diet. In the liver, the ES diet significantly depressed non-esterified, esterified and total cholesterol. The treatments did not affect hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase, cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase or sterol 27-hydroxylase activities. In the gallbladder bile of ES-fed pigs, total cholesterol was depressed while total bile acid concentration was increased. IRA and the ES diet markedly decreased the biliary bile acid microbial metabolites (namely hyodeoxycholic acid) and increased the primary bile acids (mainly hyocholic acid). The concentration of bile hydrophobic acids was decreased only by the ES diet. Faecal neutral sterol output was increased in ES-fed pigs, but the bile acid and the sum of neutral and acidic steroid outputs were not. Microbial transformation of neutral and acidic steroids was markedly reduced by IRA, especially in the ES-fed pigs. Thus, surgery and ES modulated the steroid profile but the caecum–colon did not seem to play a crucial role in determining cholesterolaemia in pigs.

Keywords:
Ileo-rectal anastomosis, Extruded soya beans, Cholesterol metabolism, Steroid output, Pigs

Abbreviations:
CYP7A1, cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, CYP27A1, sterol 27-hydroxylase, ES, extruded soya beans, HMG CoA, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA, I, intact, IRA, ileo-rectal anastomosis