University of Oulu, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oulu, Finland.
Anim Reprod Sci. 2010 Jun;119(3-4):287-92. doi: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2010.01.008. Epub 2010 Jan 25.
Beta-sitosterol is a weakly estrogenic phytosterol used in functional foods to lower elevated serum cholesterol concentrations. It has been reported to cause reproductive disturbances in fish and lower the sperm count of rodents but, in contrast, there were indications of enhanced reproduction in a preliminary study on the brown American mink (Neovison vison). In the present experiment the effects of chronic dietary beta-sitosterol exposure on the reproduction of the American mink were evaluated with a large number of experimental animals. Male and female finnwhite mink (n=200)--a previously uninvestigated color type with lower reproductive success compared to brown mink--were exposed to 50 mg beta-sitosterol kg(-1)d(-1) for 10 months and compared with 200 control animals. After 3 months in November, 15 males per group were sacrificed and their biochemical variables determined. The serum glucose and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were lower in the beta-sitosterol-exposed group, while other effects were minor. The females were mated with the top-rated males (4-5:1) in March and their reproductive performance was determined. The reproductive success increased in the beta-sitosterol group with significantly fewer barren females and a higher number of successfully reproducing females than in the control group, which supports previous studies on brown mink and voles indicating that beta-sitosterol could be used to enhance the reproductive performance of these mammals.
β-谷甾醇是一种弱雌激素性植物固醇，用于功能性食品以降低升高的血清胆固醇浓度。据报道，它会引起鱼类生殖紊乱，并降低啮齿动物的精子数量，但与之相反，在对褐家鼠（Neovison vison）的初步研究中，有迹象表明生殖能力增强。在本实验中，用大量实验动物评估了慢性饮食β-谷甾醇暴露对美洲水貂（Neovison vison）繁殖的影响。雄性和雌性 finnwhite 水貂（n=200）-一种以前未被研究过的颜色类型，与棕色水貂相比，繁殖成功率较低-被暴露于 50mg/kgβ-谷甾醇中，持续 10 个月，并与 200 只对照动物进行比较。11 月进行 3 个月后，每组处死 15 只雄性，并测定其生化变量。β-谷甾醇暴露组的血清葡萄糖和高密度脂蛋白胆固醇浓度较低，而其他影响较小。雌性与评分最高的雄性（4-5:1）交配，并确定其繁殖性能。β-谷甾醇组的繁殖成功率增加，不育雌性明显减少，成功繁殖的雌性数量多于对照组，这支持了先前关于褐家鼠和田鼠的研究，表明β-谷甾醇可用于提高这些哺乳动物的繁殖性能。
