The effects of protein dietary sources on serum cholesterol and bile acid microbiological transformation in rabbits

The effects of feeding different protein sources on plasma cholesterol and bile acid microbiological transformations has been investigated in rabbits fed casein or soy protein diets. Casein fed rabbits exhibit higher serum cholesterol levels while in vitro observations show an impairment of primary bile acid bacterial 7a- dehydroxylation. The protein dietary source does not seem to modify the microflora composition as long as groups and genera are concerned, however we observed differences in the relative frequencies of some species of Bacteroidaceae: B. thetaiotaomicron, B. distasonis, B. uniformis and B. vulgatus.