Relationship between dietary phosphatidylcholine and serum cholesterol in the lobster Homarus sp.

The absence of soy phosphatidylcholine (PC) in purified diets fed to juvenile lobstrs causes a significant decrease in the concentrations of total cholesterol and phospholipids in the serum. When egg PC, bovine PC, phosphatidylinositol, and ovine cephalin are used as substitutes for the soy PC, cholesterol and phospholipid levels in the serum are also significantly reduced. Cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations in the serum are highly correlated. Analysis of levels of hepatopancreatic cholesterol indicate that intestinal absorption of cholesterol is not impaired by the absence of dietary PC or by the presence of a phospholipid substitute. We suggest that the PC molecule is an important component of a lipoprotein complex that effectively transfers cholesterol, an essential nutrient for lobsters, from the hepatopancreas to the hemolymph.This work is a result of research sponsored in part by NOAA, Office of Sea Grant, Department of Commerce, under Grant No. 04-8-MO1-189 R/A 28. The US Government is authorized to produce and distribute reprints for governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation that may appear hereon