Preferences among four species of local browse offered to Colobus guereza kikuyuensis at the Central Park Zoo

The objective of this study was to document the browse preferences of five adult Colobus monkeys (one male and four females, fed a nutritionally sound diet) among four local and readily available temperate browse types at the Central Park Zoo. The four browse species used in part A of the study were nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), mulberry (Morus alba), Russian olive, (Elacagnus angustifolia), and weeping willow (Salix babylonica). During a second trial (part B), weeping willow was replaced by purpleosier willow (Salix purpurea). The Bradley‐Terry categorical model for paired comparisons using the LOGISTIC procedure was used to analyze the data with the SAS System for Windows, version 8.2. Individual preferences and group data were examined. The results of this preference study show that the majority of the Colobus troop preferred browse that was relatively low in fiber fractions. The male's preferences differed from those of the females. Nasturtium, which contained the least amount of lignin, was generally favored by the females but was the male's lowest choice in both trials. Zoo Biol 0:1–8, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Conjugated and free sterols from black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seed coats as cholesterol micelle disruptors and their effect on lipid metabolism and cholesterol transport in rat primary hepatocytes

Phytosterols have been widely studied for their cholesterol-lowering effect. Conjugated phytosterol forms have been found more active than free moieties. There are no reports about the sterol profile of black bean seed coats neither its effects on cholesterol metabolism. The aim of this research was to identify and quantify phytosterols from black bean seed coats and to determine their effects on cholesterol micellar solubility and on mRNA and key protein levels involved in lipid/cholesterol metabolism and cholesterol transport in primary rat hepatocytes. Free phytosterols, acylated steryl glycosides, and steryl glycosides were extracted from black bean seed coats. They were identified through HPLC–MS–TOF and quantified through HPLC equipped with UV–visible and evaporative light-scattering detectors. Free and conjugated phytosterols from the coats significantly increased the inhibitory effect of cholesterol micelle formation compared with stigmasterol, which was used as control (P < 0.05). In addition, phytosterols of black bean seed coat decreased lipogenesis by the downregulation of lipogenic proteins such as sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 and fatty acid synthesis (FAS) in primary rat hepatocytes. Regarding β-oxidation, phytosterols upregulated the expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I and promoted the β-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids. Phytosterols inhibited cholesterol micellar solubility and reduced the activation of the liver X receptor, decreasing hepatic FAS and promoting hepatic β-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids.