Effect of major nutrient substitutions on body weight gain, blood glucose and cholesterol levels, and the rate of drug metabolism in the liver.

Rats were fed diets resembling a normal human diet, except that, in a complete factorial fashion, safflower oil and/or mineral oil were substituted for part of the fat, while fructose, lactose and/or cellulose were substituted for carbohydrate, and zein was substituted for milk protein. Food intake and weight gain were not influenced by cellulose and mineral oil, but zein decreased both substantially. Plasma cholesterol was unchanged by safflower oil or mineral oil but was decreased by fructose. Plasma glucose was reduced as the starch-to-sugar ratio increased. The rate of aniline metabolism was increased by lactose and/or zein, but the rate of ethylmorphine metabolism was decreased by safflower oil or mineral oil.