Neutral sterol excretions in rats fed skim milk and skim milk yogurt diets.

Acceleration of cholesterol catabolism (through feces) has been proposed as one of the mechanisms for the hypocholesterolemic effect of dairy products. This study examined the effects of feeding two milk products (skim milk and skim milk yogurt) on fecal neutral sterol excretions in rats. Six groups of nine rats each were fed iso-caloric Chow-based diets containing water, 45% skim milk (SM), or 45% skim milk yogurt (SMY), without or with cholesterol. The results indicate that both SM and SMY increased the excretion of total neutral sterols under hyperlipemic conditions. The SMY diet (with cholesterol) also increased the excretion of coprostanol, a bacterial metabolite.