Effects of Untreated and Thermally Treated Lupin Protein on Plasma and Liver Lipids of Rats Fed a Hypercholesterolemic High Fat or High Carbohydrate Diet

Lupin protein is capable of reducing plasma lipids in hypercholesterolemic man and animals. Whether lipid-lowering properties of lupin protein will be influenced by thermal treatment or by other nutrients has not been elucidated. In a two-factorial study, rats were fed hypercholesterolemic diets based on high amounts of carbohydrates (HC) or fat (HF), which contained either (20.4% of energy) untreated or thermally treated lupin protein (steam: 120 °C, 30 min) or casein as control protein. Lupin protein lowered plasma lipid concentrations in rats fed the HF diet but not in those fed the HC diet (P < 0.05). Among rats fed the HF diet, plasma and VLDL triglyceride concentrations were lower in rats fed thermally treated (−46% and −44%, P < 0.05) and untreated lupin protein (−47% and −46%, P < 0.05) than in those fed casein; whereas liver triglycerides were reduced only in rats fed untreated lupin protein (P < 0.05). Compared to casein, untreated lupin protein had slightly stronger cholesterol-lowering effects in plasma, LDL and HDL (−34%, −37%, −35%; P < 0.05) than thermally treated lupin protein (−23%, −29%, −31%, P < 0.10). In conclusion, the lipid-lowering effect of lupin protein strongly depends on composition of the basal diet, and thermal treatment is accompanied by a slight reduction of its hypocholesterolemic properties.