Abstract

SAN MAURO-MARTIN, Ismael et al. Effect of plant sterols in reducing plasma cholesterol: crossover double-blind randomized clinical trial. Nutr. Hosp. [online]. 2016, vol.33, n.3, pp.685-691. ISSN 1699-5198.  https://dx.doi.org/10.20960/nh.279.

Introduction: Hypercholesterolemia is one of the most relevant risk factors in cardiovascular disease, and plant sterols have been postulated as beneficial regulator agents for the control of the disease. Objective: Analyze the effect of added plant sterols in milk in reducing plasma cholesterol in young adults. Methods: A randomized, clinical controlled trial, double-blind crossover study. Sterols (2.24 g per day) were administrated in two doses of 350 ml of commercial skimmed milk, during two phases of three weeks respectively separated by a washout period of 2 weeks, in the experimental group. The same amount of skimmed milk was administrated to the control group, but with no sterols. At the beginning and end of each phase blood draws were performed. Anthropometric data and health habits were analyzed and the following blood laboratory markers: lipid profile, hematology, inflammation, etc. were collected. Results: Fifty four people were included in the study with an average age of 38.8 ± 7.3 years. Differences between baseline and final scores percentage were 9.73 %, 12.5 %, 1.9 %, 3.15 % y 13.2 % for total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and No HDL-cholesterol, respectively. Statistically significant differences were found between the experimental group and the control group for all biomarkers analyzed except for triglycerides. Conclusion: Plant sterols supplied in commonly consumed food, such as milk, may be a non- pharmacological therapeutic strategy of hypercholesterolemia with high health interest.

Keywords : Cholesterol; Cardiovascular risk; Plant sterols; Low density lipoproteins (LDL).

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