Dietary Calcium Decreases Plasma Cholesterol Level only in Female but not in Male Hamster Fed a High Cholesterol Diet

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of dietary calcium on plasma lipoprotein profile in castrated and ovariectomized hamsters.MethodsMale, castrated, female and ovariectomized hamsters (n=36 each group) were randomly divided into three sub-groups (n=12) and fed one of the three diets containing 0, 2, and 8 g calcium per kg diet for a period of six weeks. Changes in plasma lipoprotein profile were monitored at the end of week 0, 3 and 6.ResultsPlasma total cholesterol (TC), non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), triacylglycerols (TG) and TC/HDL-C were decreased only in intact female and ovariectomized hamsters. In contrast, three levels of dietary calcium had no effect on lipoprotein profiles in both intact male and castrated hamsters.ConclusionBeneficial modification of lipoprotein profile by dietary calcium was gender-dependent at least in hamsters.