Effects of Okinawan sugar cane wax and fatty alcohol on serum and liver lipids in the rat.

Partially purified Okinawan sugar cane wax and fatty alcohol were fed to Wistar strain rats to examine the effects on serum and liver cholesterol (Chol), triglyceride (TG) and phospholipid (PL). The fecal excretion of neutral sterols in the rats was also determined. There were no significant differences found in the body weight gain, food intake and liver weight among the animals of experimental diet groups. An addition of 0.5% sugar cane wax to the diet significantly lowered the concentrations of serum and liver Chol in the rats. There were no significant differences observed in PL and TG levels either in serum or liver among the experimental groups. These results indicate that cane wax, one of the elements contained in sugar cane rind as well as in black sugar, may have a cholesterol-lowering effect on the serum and liver of the rats. The amount of feces excreted by the three experimental diet groups of rats were exactly the same and also no significant differences were found in the excretion of Chol.