Abstract: Objective: To investigate the effect of fermented wheat germ on cholesterol levels in rats with hypercholesterolemia and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanism. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 8 groups by cholesterol level and body weight. The rats in the control group were fed a normal diet and water, while those in the model were given a high-fat diet and water. The other groups were intragastrically administrated with lyophilized powder of the fermented supernatant at low (LS group, 221 mg/(kg·d)), medium (MS group, 442 mg/(kg·d)) and high (HS group, 884 mg/(kg·d)) doses, and with lyophilized powder of the precipitate at low (LP group, 221mg/(kg·d)), medium (MP group, 442 mg/(kg·d)) and high (HP group, 884 mg/(kg·d)) doses, respectively, all of which were also given a high-fat diet and water. Both the control and model groups received an identical volume of water. The administration lasted for 60 days and at the end of this period, all rats were sacrificed for analysis of serum total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), liver TC and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), and stool quantity and fecal bile acids (BA). Results: Serum TC level in the rats fed the high-fat diet were significantly increased compared with those fed the normal diet. A rat model of hypercholesterolemia was established successfully. Serum TC levels of the rats in the LS and MP groups were significantly reduced in contrast to those in the model group (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). Liver TC concentrations, stool quantity and fecal bile acid levels in all treatment groups were increased, but the differences were not significant statistically compared with the model group (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Fermented wheat germ can time-dependently and dose-dependently reduce serum TC by transferring TC from the serum to the liver, promoting BA formation from TC and increasing stool quantity.

Key words: fermented wheat germ, cholesterol, hypercholesterolemia, bile acids