Dietary fiber and intestinal adaptation: effects on lipid absorption and lymphatic transport in the rat.

Adult male rats fed defined diets containing various fiber supplements or cholestyramine for 4 wk were surgically provided with lymphatic drainage catheters and starved overnight. After duodenal administration of a standard lipid test emulsion, absorption rates and lipoprotein distributions of cholesterol and oleic acid were determined. Prefeeding diets containing cellulose or alfalfa had no significant effect on oleic acid absorption. Diets containing pectin, guar gum, metamucil, mixed fibers (Fibyrax), or cholestyramine caused decreased lymphatic recovery in the initial period; except for the metamucil diet, no decrease was caused in the 24-h recovery, suggesting delayed but not impaired absorption. Fatty acid distribution among lipoproteins and chylomicron size were not altered by diet. All supplements caused a significant reduction in cholesterol absorption during the initial period, and cholesterol absorption remained depressed in animals prefed pectin, guar gum, mixed fibers, metamucil, and cholestyramine.