Hypocholesteremic effectiveness of a yogurt containing plant stanol esters

This clinical trial was carried out with the objective of a preliminar evaluation of the hypocholesteremic effectiveness of a dietary dairy product currently marketed in Spain in the form of drinkable yogurt. Thirty-two adult male and female patients with LDL cholesterol higher than 120 mg/dl were recruited in a pilot, randomized as parallel groups, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial. Patients consumed during 3 weeks (a bottle a day) Kaiku's Benecol (R) containing 2 g/bottle of plant stanol esters, or a placebo consisting of the same product without plant stanol. Furthermore, all participants carried out some dietary standards. At the beginning and the end of the treatment LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol were assessed; LDL/HDL index was also calculated. At the end of the treatment in the active group a significant decline (p < 0.01) with regard to the initial levels was observed in LDL cholesterol (157 +/- 30 to 140 +/- 34, mg/dl, mean +/- SD) levels, total cholesterol (235 +/- 34 to 219 +/- 35) levels, and LDL/HDL index (3,2 1,0 to 3,0 1,2), without significant changes in HDL cholesterol (48 +/- 15 to 53 +/- 29); in the placebo group there were no significant changes (LDL cholesterol: 168 +/- 25 to 164 +/- 23; total cholesterol: 245 +/- 31 to 237 +/- 23; HDL cholesterol: 51 +/- 12 to 51 +/- 12; LDL/HDL index: 3,4 0,6 to 3,3 0,8). In short, consumption of a yogurt a day containing 2 g of stanol reduces significantly the cholesterol levels and this effect is not observed with the placebo.