A spread enriched with plant sterol-esters lowers blood cholesterol and lipoproteins without affecting vitamins A and E in normal and hypercholesterolemic Japanese men and women.

The objective of the study was to investigate whether different initial baseline cholesterol levels modulate the efficacy of a spread enriched with plant sterol-esters (PS) in lowering blood cholesterol in a Japanese population consuming their usual diet. Healthy adults with a mean age of 45 y and mean plasma total cholesterol (TC) level of 6.5 mmol/L were recruited to participate in a double-blind trial comprised of a run-in period of 1 wk, followed by two intervention periods of 3 wks in a 2 x 2 crossover design and a post-trial follow-up of 3 wk.