The Effect of Feeding Supraphysiological Level of Lecithin on Plasma Cholesterol and Body Weight inMice

Three groups of adult male mice (25 mice in each group) were weighed and housed in special cages for 35 days where they were fed different diet. The control group fed balanced diet, group (A) fed balanced diet + (2mg) lecithin and group (B) fed balanced diet + (2mg) lecithin + 1% cholesterol. On day 35 the mice were weighed and samples of their blood collected by heart puncture then analyzed for cholesterol and triglyceride. The results showed that there was a significant deference (p 0.05) in plasma cholesterol and the body weight among group (A), group (B) and control group. The levels of plasma cholesterol of group (A) were (42.17)±(6.1)mg/dl, (43.47)±(9.7)mg/dl of group (B) and (78.58)±(4.2)mg/dl of control group. The body weights were (52.28)±(6.72)gm of group (A) and (50.03)±(6.12)gm of group (B), while the control group was (41.62)±(3.17)gm, which was significantly (p 0.05) lower than the body weights in the group (A) and group (B), while there was no significant deference in the levels of plasma triglyceride among the groups. It was concluded from this study that lecithin elevates the body weight and reduce plasma cholesterol level in mice.