July 21/Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- According to recent research from Calgary, Canada, "Prebiotic fibers have been proposed to promote weight loss and lower serum cholesterol; however, the mechanisms are not fully understood. The aim of the present research was to identify possible mechanisms through which prebiotic fibers improve serum lipids."

"Lean and obese JCR:La-cp rats aged eight weeks consumed one of three diets supplemented with 0, 10 or 20% prebiotic fibre for 10 weeks. Rats were anaesthetized, and a fasting blood sample was taken for lipid analysis. Real-time PCR was used to determine gene expression for cholesterol and fatty acid regulatory genes in liver tissue. Liver and caecal digesta cholesterol and TAG content were quantified.