Effect of subcritical water-treated wheat bran on lipid metabolism in rats fed high-cholesterol diets

Wheat bran was hydrolyzed in subcritical water to increase the soluble dietary fiber (SDF). The SDF contents in wheat bran (WB) and subcritical water-treated wheat bran (SC-WB) were 10.4 and 23.2%, respectively, showing that SC-WB had about 2-fold higher SDF content than WB. Rats were fed a high-cholesterol (control) diet, or a control diet supplemented with WB (WB diet) or SC-WB (SC-WB diet) at 5% for 4 weeks. There were no significant differences in the concentrations of serum total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and phospholipid among three groups. Although there was no significant difference between WB and SC-WB, both WB and SC-WB significantly prevented the elevation of serum triacylglycerol concentration and weight of mesenteric adipose (p< 0.05). These results suggested that subcritical water treatment cause the increase of water soluble dietary fiber without the significant elevation of physiological activities for lipid metabolism.