Effect of feeding beta-sitosterol alone or in combination with cholestyramine during early life on subsequent response to cholesterol challenge in adult life in guinea-pigs

The effect of feeding 20 g beta-sitosterol/kg alone or in combination with cholestyramine (20 g/kg) during neonatal life of guinea-pigs on their subsequent response to a dietary cholesterol challenge in adult life was examined. 2. beta-Sitosterol pretreated animals showed higher plasma cholesterol values following 2 weeks on a cholesterol challenge (2-5 g/kg) diet, but did not differ significantly from control values for the remainder of the cholesterol challenge period. 3. Guinea-pigs pretreated with beta-sitosterol plus cholestyramine, on the other hand, showed a marked increase in plasma cholesterol levels over those of controls during the cholesterol challenge period, and this "hyper-responder" behaviour was maintained throughout the study period. 4. Despite the increase in plasma cholesterol, beta-sitosterol plus cholestyramine pretreated animals excreted significantly (P less than 0.05) greater amounts of bile acids and total sterols. 5. These findings demonstrate that neonatal pretreatment with beta-sitosterol plus cholestyramine has detrimental effects on the handling of a cholesterol challenge in adult life, and does not achieve the beneficial effect previously noted with pretreatment with cholestyramine alone.