Effects of dietary proteins from a variety of sources on plasma lipids and lipoproteins of rats.

Five experiments were conducted to study the effect of various protein sources on fasting blood lipids and lipoproteins in the rat. Plasma levels of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and total triglyceride, as well as weight gain, food intake protein efficiency ratio and net protein utilization were measured over 28-day test periods with male Sprague-Dawley rats. The purified proteins studied included casein, egg albumin, lactalbumin, soy and alfalfa.