Indonesians have a high intake of saturated fats, a key contributing dietary factor to elevated blood cholesterol concentrations. We investigated the cholesterol lowering efficacy of a smoothie drink with 2 grams of plant stanols as esters to lower serum total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations in hypercholesterolemic Indonesian adults. The double-blind randomized placebo controlled parallel design study involved 99 subjects. Fifty subjects received control drink and dietary advice, and 49 subjects received intervention drink (Nutrive Benecol®) and dietary advice. Baseline, midline (week 2), and endline (week 4) assessments were undertaken for clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical variables. Compared to control, the smoothie drink with plant stanols reduced serum LDL-cholesterol concentration by 7.6% (p<0.05) and 9.0% (p<0.05) in two and four weeks, respectively. Serum total cholesterol was reduced by 5.7% (p<0.05 compared to control) in two weeks, and no further reduction was detected after four weeks (5.6%). Compared to baseline habitual diet, LDL-cholesterol was reduced by 9.3% (p<0.05) and 9.8% (p<0.05) in the plant stanol ester group in two and four weeks, respectively. We conclude that consumption of smoothie drink with added plant stanol esters effectively reduces serum total and LDL-cholesterol of hypercholesterolemic Indonesian subjects already in two weeks. Trial is registered as NCT02316808.
Response to comments on the Scientific Opinion of the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) on the scientific substantiation of health claims related to consumption of 2 g/day of plant stanols (as plant stanol esters) as part of a diet low in saturated fat and a two‐fold greater reduction in blood LDL‐cholesterol concentrations compared to the consumption of a diet low in saturated fat alone pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006
