Evaluating Healthful Properties of Cereals and Cereal Fractions by Their Bile - Acid - Binding Potential 1

In vitro bile acid binding without the use of labeled isotopes is an economical method for screening various foods and food fractions to evaluate their healthful potential before initiating timeand costintensive animal and human studies. Bile acids are needed for fat absorption, and high-fat diets are implicated in obesity, as well as raising plasma cholesterol. Bound bile acids are excreted and are not available for absorption through enterohepatic circulation. In response to lowered bile acid levels, the liver uses cholesterol to synthesize additional bile acids. Secondary bile acids are known to be carcinogenic. Cholesterol-lowering and cancer-risk-reduction potential of food fractions could be evaluated by their bile-acid-binding potential. Some plant breeding companies have been using an in vitro bile-acid-binding procedure (18) in their selections to propagate more health-promoting crops. Cereals and cereal bran are considered to be desirable for human consumption due to their reported health benefits. Extensive research reviewed by Kahlon and Chow (17) has shown that incorporating rice bran, oat bran, or barley fractions in the diet results in plasma cholesterol reductions, which lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Milling wheat bran to a smaller particle size has been shown to ameliorate the impaired bioavailability of vitamin E by the coarse wheat bran (21). Extruded wheat bran and other foods have been shown to lower blood cholesterol in humans (36). Extruded wheat bran at low specific mechanical energy (SME) of 120–221 Wh/kg has been reported to significantly lower plasma and liver lipids in hamsters compared with unextruded wheat bran (23,25). Health benefits associated with the consumption of wheat bran include fecal bulking and improved regularity (34). Various ➤ In vitro bile acid binding is a valuable tool for screening food fractions for their healthful potential before animal and human studies are warranted.