Short-Term Intake of Fish Protein Contained in Fish Sausage Improved Lipid Profiles in Hypercholesterolemia Patients: Baseline and Post-Intervention Effects

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 55 - 60
• Main Authors: KAWABATA, Fuminori, TSUJI, Tomoko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Japanese Society for Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2011
• Subjects: fish protein; fish sausage; HDL-cholesterol; LDL-cholesterol; total-cholesterol
• ISSN: 1348-7922; 1348-7930
• DOI: 10.1625/jcam.8.55

Fish sausage is a common food in Japan. It is mainly made from surimi, which contains a high amount of fish protein. Although it has been reported that the administration of fish protein reduces blood total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides in experimental animals, it has not been studied whether the intake of fish protein improves blood cholesterol profiles in humans. In the present study, male subjects (n = 20) with fasting blood LDL-cholesterol (140–179 mg/dL) were enrolled. Subjects consumed a total of 225 g of fish sausage daily for 8 weeks, and the total ingestion dose of fish protein was 13.5 g/day. Blood total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and atherogenic index were significantly reduced (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, and p < 0.01, respectively), and HDL-cholesterol was significantly increased (p < 0.01) by fish sausage intake after 4 and/or 8 weeks of intervention without side effects. These results imply that the short-term intake of fish protein achieved by the eating of fish sausage improves cholesterol profiles in hypercholesterolemia subjects.