A high-saturated fat diet enriched with phytosterol and pectin affects the fatty acid profile in guinea pigs.

This paper presents the results of a study whose aim was to test the effects of several doses of pectin and phytosterols on the body weight gain and the FA content in female guinea pigs. The treatments resulted from supplementing with pectin and plant sterol a guinea pig diet (rich in saturated FA), following a 3 x 3 factorial design, with three levels of pectin (0, 3.67 and 6.93%) and three levels of phytosterols (0, 1.37, and 2.45%). Seventy-two female Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs were randomly assigned to the treatment groups (8 animals/group), the duration of the treatment being 4 wk. Pectin dietary intake led to a significant increase in body weight (P < 0.001), food consumption (P = 0.025), and feed efficiency (P < 0.001), but no influence of phytosterols on weight gain or food consumption was detected. We found a significant negative effect of the addition of phytosterols on lauric, myristic, and palmitic acid contents in feces, and a positive effect on their concentration in plasma and liver, but no significant effect on stearic acid content. Apparent FA absorption was assessed by calculating the ratio of FA in feces and diets that the absorption of the different FA could be compared, and the negative effect of phytosterol supplementation on these ratios, especially for lauric and myristic acids, was established.