Phytosterols and Oxyphytosterol Concentrations

Summary

Plant sterols and stanols (also called phytosterols and phytostanols) are structurally related to cholesterol, but absorbed to a much lesser extent. Due to this structural similarity, plant sterols and stanols inhibit intestinal cholesterol absorption and lower serum LDL cholesterol concentrations by about 10% at daily intakes of 2.5 g. Plant sterol- and stanol-enriched food products are therefore widely available on the market to lower the risk for coronary heart disease. Plant sterols can undergo oxidation, which results in the formation of oxyphytosterols. Animal studies have now suggested that oxyphytosterols are atherogenic. Although oxyphytosterols have been identified in human serum samples, the effect of an increased intake of plant sterols on serum oxyphytosterol concentrations in humans is not known. On the other hand, plant stanols cannot be oxidized and lower not only cholesterol absorption, but also plant sterol absorption.

The major objective of the present study is to examine the effects of dietary plant sterols and stanols on fasting serum concentrations of oxyphytosterols. The minor objective is to investigate the effects of these products on postprandial serum oxyphytosterol concentrations.

Conditions

• Normocholesterolemic

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Plant sterol-enriched margarine

Daily consumption of 20 gram of a plant sterol-enriched margarine (providing daily 3.0 gram of plant sterols), for a period of 4 weeks. At the end of the 4 weeks, subjects will undergo a postprandial test for 8 hours, in which 20 gram of the plant sterol-enriched margarine is consumed together with a high-fat milkshake

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Plant stanol-enriched margarine

Daily consumption of 20 gram of a plant stanol-enriched margarine (providing daily 3.0 gram of plant stanols), for a period of 4 weeks. At the end of the 4 weeks, subjects will undergo a postprandial test for 8 hours, in which 20 gram of the plant stanol-enriched margarine is consumed together with a high-fat milkshake

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Control margarine

Daily consumption of 20 gram of a control margarine, for a period of 4 weeks. At the end of the 4 weeks, subjects will undergo a postprandial test for 8 hours, in which 20 gram of the control margarine is consumed together with a high-fat milkshake

Sponsors & Collaborators

• ZonMw: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development

  collaborator OTHER

• Maastricht University Medical Center

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jogchum Plat, Dr. · Maastricht University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

70 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-05-31

Primary Completion

2010-10-26

Completion

2012-02-02

Countries

• Netherlands

Study Locations