Increases in plasma plant sterols stabilize within four weeks of plant sterol intake and are independent of cholesterol metabolism

Abstract Background and aims Plant sterols (PS) lower plasma LDL-cholesterol through partial inhibition of intestinal cholesterol absorption. Although PS themselves are poorly absorbed, increased intakes of PS result in elevated plasma concentrations. In this paper, we report time curves of changes...

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Published in:Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases, 2016-04, Vol.26 (4), p.302-309
Main Authors: Ras, R.T, Koppenol, W.P, Garczarek, U, Otten-Hofman, A, Fuchs, D, Wagner, F, Trautwein, E.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absorption
Adult
Aged
Cardiovascular
Cholestadienols - blood
Cholesterol
Cholesterol - analogs & derivatives
Cholesterol - blood
Cholesterol, LDL - blood
Double-Blind Method
Female
Humans
Hypercholesterolemia - blood
Hypercholesterolemia - drug therapy
Intestinal Absorption - drug effects
Lipid Metabolism - drug effects
Male
Middle Aged
Phytosterols - administration & dosage
Phytosterols - blood
Plant sterols
Prospective Studies
Sitosterols - blood
Stigmasterol - blood
Synthesis
Time curves
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Summary:Abstract Background and aims Plant sterols (PS) lower plasma LDL-cholesterol through partial inhibition of intestinal cholesterol absorption. Although PS themselves are poorly absorbed, increased intakes of PS result in elevated plasma concentrations. In this paper, we report time curves of changes in plasma PS during 12 weeks of PS intake. Furthermore, the impact of cholesterol synthesis and absorption on changes in plasma PS is explored. Methods and results The study was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study with the main aim to investigate the effects of PS on vascular function (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01803178 ). Hypercholesterolemic but otherwise healthy men and women (n = 240) consumed low-fat spreads without or with added PS (3 g/d) for 12 weeks after a 4-week run-in period. Blood sampling was performed at week 0, 4, 8 and 12. Basal cholesterol-standardized concentrations of lathosterol and sitosterol + campesterol were used as markers of cholesterol synthesis and absorption, respectively. In the PS group, plasma sitosterol and campesterol concentrations increased within the first 4 weeks of intervention by 69% (95%CI: 58; 82) starting at 7.2 μmol/L and by 28% (95%CI: 19; 39) starting at 11.4 μmol/L, respectively, and remained stable during the following 8 weeks. Placebo-corrected increases in plasma PS were not significantly different between high and low cholesterol synthesizers (P-values >0.05). Between high and low cholesterol absorbers, no significant differences were observed, except for the cholesterol-standardized sum of four major plasma PS (sitosterol, campesterol, brassicasterol and stigmasterol) showing larger increases in low absorbers (78.3% (95%CI: 51.7; 109.5)) compared to high absorbers (40.8% (95%CI: 19.9; 65.5)). Conclusions Increases in plasma PS stabilize within 4 weeks of PS intake and do not seem impacted by basal cholesterol synthesis or absorption efficiency. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT01803178 ).
ISSN:0939-4753
1590-3729
DOI:10.1016/j.numecd.2015.11.007