Effect of different fat-enriched meats on non-cholesterol sterols and oxysterols as markers of cholesterol metabolism: Results of a randomized and cross-over clinical trial

•Cholesterol metabolism was estimated from serum sterol concentrations.•Cholesterol intestinal absorption was decreased with both diets.•Cholesterol synthesis and elimination decreased during the low-fat lamb diet period.•Acute changes in the diet fat content modified the cholesterol metabolism.•These changes were observed by a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS).

Background and aimDifferent kinds of fatty acids can affect the synthesis, absorption, and elimination of cholesterol. This study was carried out to assess the associations of cholesterol metabolism with the intake of two meats with different fatty acid composition in healthy volunteers.Methods and resultsThe study group was composed of 20 subjects (12 males and eight females; age, 34.4 ± 11.6 years; body mass index (BMI), 23.5 ± 2.3 kg/m2; low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, 2.97 ± 0.55 mmol/l; high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, 1.61 ± 0.31 mmol/l; triglycerides (TG), 1.06 ± 0.41 mmol/l) who completed a 30-day randomized and cross-over study to compare the cholesterol metabolism effect of 250 g of low-fat lamb versus 250 g of high-fat lamb per day in their usual diet. Cholesterol absorption, synthesis, and elimination were estimated from the serum non-cholesterol sterol and oxysterol concentrations analyzed by a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). No changes in weight, plasma lipids, or physical activity were observed across the study. Cholesterol intestinal absorption was decreased with both diets. Cholesterol synthesis and elimination decreased during the low-fat lamb dietary intervention (ρ = 0.048 and ρ = 0.005, respectively).ConclusionAcute changes in the diet fat content modify the synthesis, absorption, and biliary elimination of cholesterol. These changes were observed even in the absence of total and LDL cholesterol changes in plasma.Registration number for clinical trialsClinicalTrials.gov PRS, NCT02259153.