Alimentary Disorders of Cholesterol and Fat Metabolism in Male Wistar Rats: an In Vivo Study

We performed a comparative analysis of lipid and cholesterol metabolism disorders, as well as liver condition in male Wistar rats receiving high-fat diets with different cholesterol contents. Addition of 2% cholesterol to the diet resulted in a marked aggravation of fatty liver disease, characterized by extreme accumulation of fat and cholesterol. A diet supplemented with 0.5% cholesterol resulted in serum cholesterol accumulation and liver steatosis, but had no effect on weight gain or body composition. Introduction of 1% cholesterol to the diet induced similar abnormalities as 2% cholesterol, but without the extreme cholesterol and fat accumulation in the liver. This model can be used in the future to evaluate the effectiveness of the studied functional foods.