Intake of 2-3 g/d of plant stanols as esters lowers LDL cholesterol level, but there is no information about the efficacy and safety of a respective very high daily intake. We studied the effects of 8.8 g/d of plant stanols as esters on serum lipids and safety variables in subjects with mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia.
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study the intervention (n=25) and control (n=24) groups consumed spread and drink enriched or not with plant stanol esters for 10 weeks.
Plant stanols reduced serum total and LDL cholesterol concentrations by 12.8 and 17.3% from baseline and by 12.0 and 17.1% from controls (P