Brewer's Spent Grain, Serum Lipids and Fecal Sterol Excretion in Human Subjects with Ileostomies

A crossover design studying lipid and apoprotein levels in serum and excretion of sterols, nitrogen and fat in ileostomy effluent was performed in 10 subjects fed diets with or without supplementation with brewer's spent grain, which is the residue of barley after the brewing of beer. More cholesterol, nitrogen, fat and energy were excreted in the ileostomy effluents when the subjects consumed a brewer's spent grain supplemented, high fiber diet than when they consumed a low fiber diet. No significant change was found in the daily net sterol excretion. The six subjects with low daily excretion of bile acids (< 1000 mg/24 h) had increased cholesterol and net cholesterol and decreased bile acid excretion per day, and lowered serum LDL-cholesterol and apoprotein B levels after supplementation with brewer's spent grain. We propose that subjects with low daily bile acid excretion are suitable models for studying the effect of dietary changes on sterol excretion and serum lipid levels. Increased fecal cholesterol excretion is suggested to be the primary mechanism for the serum LDL-cholesterol lowering effect of brewer's spent grain.