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Safety aspects and cholesterol-lowering efficacy of low fat dairy products containing plant sterols

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 60, pages 633–642 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this study was to investigate whether a plant sterol mixture would reduce serum cholesterol when added to low fat dairy products in subjects with hypercholesterolaemia, and to examine the effects of the mixture on the serum plant sterol and fat-soluble vitamin levels.

Design:

A parallel, double-blind study.

Setting:

The study was performed in three different locations in Finland.

Subjects:

In total, 164 mildly or moderately hypercholesterolaemic subjects participated in the study.

Methods:

The subjects were randomly divided into two groups: a plant sterol group and a control group. The subjects consumed the products for 6 weeks after a 3-week run-in period. The targeted plant sterol intake was 2 g/day in the sterol group.

Results:

During the treatment period, there was a 6.5% reduction in serum total cholesterol in the sterol group while no change was observed in the control group (P<0.0005). Serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was reduced by 10.4% in the sterol group and by 0.6% in the control group (P<0.00005). There was no change during the trial in serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or triacylglycerol concentrations. The HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio increased by 16.1% in the sterol group and by 4.3% in the control group (P=0.0001). Serum plant sterol levels increased significantly (P=0.0001) in the sterol group. None of the fat-soluble vitamin levels decreased significantly when changes in serum total cholesterol were taken into account. The hypocholesterolaemic effect of sterol administration was not influenced by apolipoprotein E phenotype.

Conclusions:

Yoghurt, low-fat hard cheese and low-fat fresh cheese enriched with a plant sterol mixture reduced serum cholesterol in hypercholesterolaemic subjects and no adverse effects were noted in the dietary control of hypercholesterolaemia.

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Acknowledgements

This study was partly supported by TEKES. We are grateful for the assistance of Pirjo Härkönen RN, Eija Lahdensuo RN, Pirjo Hilli RN, Arja Putila RN, Satu Myller RN, Anne Vänskä RN, Virpi Salminen MSc, Marjo Mannelin MSc, Terhi Hakala Ms and Kirsti Räsänen Ms for their contributions to this study. We are also grateful to Mimi Ponsonby, MA, for correcting the English and to Tiina Jauhiainen MSc for the assistance in the preparation of the manuscript. We thank Valio Ltd and the Foundation for Nutrition Research for the study products and for financial support. The test products were provided by Valio Ltd.

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Author notes

  1. J Toivo

    Present address: National Technology Agency of Finland,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Foundation for Nutrition Research, Helsinki, Finland

    R Korpela & L Seppo

  2. Institute of Biomedicine, Pharmacology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    R Korpela

  3. Departments of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, Health and Functional Capacity, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland

    J Tuomilehto, P Högström, J Sundvall & S Vilkkilä

  4. Department of Applied Food Chemistry and Microbiology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    V Piironen, P Salo-Väänänen, C Lamberg-Allardt, M Kärkkäinen & T Outila

  5. Department of Applied Food Chemistry and Microbiology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    J Toivo

  6. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    M J Tikkanen

  7. Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    J Tuomilehto

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  1. R Korpela
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to R Korpela.

Additional information

Guarantor: R Korpela.

Contributors: RK helped in the initiation of the study and writing of the manuscript, JT was responsible for the study design, supervision of the clinical study in all four areas and the writing of the manuscript, PH for coordinating the clinical study, the statistical analysis and the writing of the manuscript, LS assisted in the writing of the manuscript, VP and PS-V performed fat-soluble vitamin analysis, JT performed sterol analysis, CL-A, MK and TO performed 25(OH) vitamin D analysis, JS and SV performed cholesterol analysis, and MJT was responsible for the safety aspects, the LDL oxidation analysis and the writing of the manuscript.

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Korpela, R., Tuomilehto, J., Högström, P. et al. Safety aspects and cholesterol-lowering efficacy of low fat dairy products containing plant sterols. Eur J Clin Nutr 60, 633–642 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602362

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602362

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