Phytosterols, but not pectin, added to a high-saturated-fat diet modify saturated fatty acid excretion in relation to chain length.

The main objective of this article was to study how the excretion of saturated fatty acids (SFA) is modified after the consumption of a high-saturated-fat diet that was supplemented with phytosterol and pectin. We present the results of a longitudinal 4-week study on guinea pigs. Diets were supplemented with 0.33% of cholesterol and differed in the content of pectin (three levels) and of phytosterols (three levels). Seventy-two female Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs were randomly assigned to the treatment groups (8 animals/group). Addition of phytosterol resulted in a decrease of lauric (12:0) and myristic (14:0) excretions and in an increase of arachidic (20:0) and behenic (22:0) excretions. Palmitic (16:0) and stearic (18:0) acids did not show a clear change after phytosterol supplementation. Addition of pectin resulted in a decreased excretion of all SFA, although this was not significant. These results suggest that phytosterols added to a high-saturated-fat diet enhance the absorption of the most atherogenic fatty acids (lauric and myristic) after 1 week of treatment, as compared with the high-saturated-fat diet alone.