Abstract
Background:
Analyzing faecal sterol concentrations in humans, subjects with a strongly decreased faecal cholesterol conversion were identified. The reasons and outcomes of this phenomenon have not been sufficiently investigated because of the complexity of the host–microflora interactions.
Subjects/Methods:
To evaluate differences between cholesterol high and low converters, the sterol excretion and faeces attributes of 320 healthy subjects (213 women, 107 men) were analyzed. Two different cut-off levels classifying cholesterol high and low converters were tested (level 1: conversion rate <30%; level 2: 50th percentile).
Results:
In both test models the faeces attributes differ significantly in a lower pH value and a lower faecal dry matter of the low converters in comparison with the high converters.
Conclusions:
These findings in faeces may reflect the conditions in the colon and can be a reason for the decreased bacterial growth and/or activity of cholesterol-reducing bacteria in the colonic microflora.
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Acknowledgements
I thank the staff of the Department of Nutritional Physiology for the excellent support in data gathering.
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Keller, S. Faecal varieties between high- and low-converters of cholesterol. Eur J Clin Nutr 64, 227–229 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2009.118
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2009.118
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