Dose-response effects of different plant sterol sources in fat spreads on serum lipids and C-reactive protein and on the kinetic behavior of serum plant sterols

Objective: To test the dose-response effect on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) of plant sterols (PS) from different sources in a low-fat spread. Methods: Dose responses of soybean oil (BO), tall oil (TO) and a mix of tall oil and rapeseed oil (TO/RP) as fatty acid esters were tested in a parallel design in free-living subjects recruited from the general community who had elevated cholesterol concentrations. Subjects received either control for 6 weeks or 1.6 g PS per day for 3 weeks, then 3.0 g/day for 3 weeks. Results: LDL-c was lowered significantly by consumption of 1.6 g/day of PS (-10.4%, range -7.3 to -11.4%). Increasing the dose to 3.0 g/day modestly reduced LDL-c concentrations further to -14.7%. TO, containing 78% sitosterol, produced an increase in serum sitosterol of 6.5 nmol/ml, while BO, containing only 27% campesterol, produced an increase in serum campesterol of 9.5 nmol/ml in 6 weeks. After PS withdrawal, serum sterols declined by 50% within 2 weeks. Conclusion: Different PS sources were equally effective in lowering serum LDL-c concentrations. The decrease in absolute concentrations of LDL-c was dependent on the baseline concentrations.