J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2000 Apr; 46(2): 105-8.

Effect of soy milk and bifidobacterium-fermented soy milk on plasma and liver lipids in ovariectomized Syrian hamsters.

Kikuchi-Hayakawa H, Onodera-Masuoka N, Kano M, Matsubara S, Yasuda E, Ishikawa F.

Yakult Central Institute for Microbiological Research, Tokyo, Japan.

The effects of soy milk and fermented soy milk on lipid metabolism were studied in ovariectomized Syrian hamsters. Five mo-old Syrian hamsters were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: ovariectomized (OVX)+control diet (OVX-C); OVX+soy milk diet (OVX-SM); OVX+fermented soy milk diet (OVX-FSM); and sham-operated+control diet (Sham-C). The hamsters were fed on these diets for 4 wk. The atherogenic index value of the OVX-FSM group was lower than that of the OVX-C group. The plasma triglyceride level of the OVX-FSM group was significantly lower than that of the OVX-C group. The liver total cholesterol contents in the OVX-SM and OVX-FSM groups were significantly lower than that in the OVX-C group. Thus, these results demonstrate that bifidobacterium-fermented soy milk had a hypolipidemic effect in ovariectomized hamsters.