[Clinico-experimental approaches to studying the hypocholesteremic action of soy proteins]

The effect of diets containing soybean proteins substituting a significant portion of meat proteins was studied in patients with hyperlipidemia, type IIa, and in experiments on rats. It was found that soybean proteins included into the diet induced blood plasma amino acid imbalance, changed the excretion of some amino acids with urine, and significantly diminished the blood plasma cholesterol level. In the experiments on rats a reduced rate was noted in the low-density lipoprotein apoprotein formation and high-density lipoprotein apoprotein regeneration in the blood plasma. It is suggested that the hypocholesterolemic effect of soybean proteins is caused by decreased apoprotein E synthesis and metabolism due to low levels of blood plasma lysine and arginine.