DIETARY-PROTEIN AS A REGULATOR OF LIPID-METABOLISM - STATE-OF-THE-ART AND NEW PERSPECTIVES

August 28 and 29, 1989, a workshop entitled "Dietary protein as a regulator of lipid metabolism" was held in Fukuoka. This workshop highlighted the progress that has been made since 1909, the year that Ignatowski put forward that animal proteins in the diet can induce atherosclerosis in rabbits. It is now clear that humans respond to dietary soybean protein versus animal proteins, such as casein, with a decrease of serum cholesterol concentrations. However, the response in humans is not as pronounced as it is in various animal models. The mechanism by which the type of dietary protein affects serum cholesterol concentrations is still a matter of debate but various elegant concepts have been launched. These concepts have contributed significantly to our current understanding of the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. Future work will concentrate on further unravelling the mechanisms involved, with special reference to proteins other than those used generally, that is soybean protein and casein.