Effect of Dietary Lecithin in Combination with Casein or Crab Protein on Cholesterol Uptake and Transport in the Lobster Homarus americanus

Purified diets, formulated with and without lecithin and containing either casein or a protein isolated from whole crab, were fed to juvenile lobsters. In order to examine the role of these dietary factors on cholesterol uptake and transport, levels of cholesterol were determined in serum, lipo‐protein fractions, tissues, and feces of juvenile lobsters fed the experimental diets. Lobsters fed diets supplemented with lecithin had significantly higher levels of serum and lipoprotein cholesterol than lobsters fed diets without supplemental lecithin regardless of the proteins used. Levels of fecal total cholesterol also were generally greater for lobsters fed lecithin‐supplemented diets. Tissue, serum, and fecal levels of intubated radiolabeled cholesterol, however, were not significantly different among diet groups, and apoprotein electrophoretic mobility was not affected by the choice of dietary protein.