| Abstract: | Objective: Foods incorporating plant sterols (PS) consistently decrease serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), although results vary depending on the PS form and food matrix. The objective was to study the effect of a novel triglyceride-recrystallized phystosterol (TRP) incorporated into fat-free milk on markers of cardiovascular risk compared to unmodified free sterols alone in the same fat-free milk. Methods: Hypercholesterolemic men and women (n = 13 males/7 females; 56 ±10 years; body mass index 27.3 ±5.9 kg/m2) participated in 3 sequential 4-week phases of 480 mL milk consumption. During phase 1 (control) all subjects consumed 2% milk containing no PS, followed by phase 2 with fat-free milk containing free PS (2 g/d fPS) and phase 3 with fat-free milk with TRP (2 g/d). After each phase, determinations of lipoprotein cholesterol distribution, particle concentration via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), apolipoproteins, inflammatory markers, and fat-soluble dietary antioxidants were made. Results: Body mass, body composition, dietary energy and macronutrients, and physical activity were unaffected throughout the study. Compared to the control 2% milk, LDL-C was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by fPS (?9.1%) and was further decreased by TRP (?15.4%); reductions with TRP were significantly greater. Total LDL particle concentration was decreased to a greater extent after TRP (?8.8%) than fPS (?4.8%; p < 0.05). Only TRP significantly decreased serum levels of apolipoprotein B (apoB; ?6%), interleukin-8 (IL-8; ?11%) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1; ?19%). Plasma α- and γ-tocopherols and carotenoids, normalized to cholesterol, remained unchanged throughout the study with the exception that β-carotene was lowered by 18%. Conclusion: In summary, TRP in fat-free milk may provide cardiovascular benefits beyond that of fPS by inducing more substantial decreases in LDL cholesterol and particle concentration, associated with declines in markers of vascular inflammation. |
