Effect of Palmitic and Stearic Acid on Cholesterol Absorption in Man

¹ From the Department of Clinical Science, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois

This study on human subjects was made because it had been found in rats that stearic and palmitic acid were poorly utilized and impaired the intestinal absorption of cholesterol. Fifteen young healthy adult humans were fed a basal diet containing 20 gm of fat (10 gm vegetable and 10 gm of animal), 120 gm of protein and 490 gm of carbohydrate daily. The fecal excretion of cholesterol and total lipid was determined during the last 3 days of eight 7-day dietary periods. Nine subjects consumed the basal diet for 1 week, then the basal diet plus 30 gm/day of palmitic acid, then the basal diet plus one egg per day (300 mg of cholesterol), then the basal diet plus one egg plus 30 gm of palmitic acid. Six subjects followed the same routine except that 30 gm of stearic acid replaced the palmitic acid and 3 gm of cholesterol were fed instead of egg. The absorption of the endogenous and the dietary cholesterol was not influenced significantly by either fatty acid. The palmitic and the stearic acid were utilized by the human subjects to the extent of 55% and 21%, respectively.