Unesterified plant sterols and stanols do not affect LDL electrophoretic characteristics in hypercholesterolemic subjects

The extent to which sterols and stanols modulate LDL particle size is unknown. We examined the effects of supplementation with unesterified plant sterols and stanols on several LDL electrophoretic characteristics. Healthy hypercholesterolemic subjects (n = 14) consumed each of four experimental diets contained plant sterols (S), plant stanols (SN), a 50:50 mixture of sterols and stanols (SSN), or cornstarch (control) in a randomized crossover design. The butter component of the diet was blended with unesterified sterols and stanols at a dose of 1.8 g/d. The LDL particles were characterized by polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis of whole plasma. LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations decreased by 8.8, 13.6, and 13.1% in the S, SN, and SSN groups, respectively (P < 0.01) with a significant increase of 4.3% in the control group. None of the treatments with sterols and stanols induced significant changes in LDL peak particle diameter or in the cholesterol levels of the small LDL subfraction (26.0 nm). The significant reduction in plasma LDL-C concentrations by sterol and stanol consumption in subjects was not paralleled by any beneficial changes in LDL electrophoretic characteristics. KEY WORDS: * coronary heart disease * phytosterols * phytostanols * small, dense LDL * hypercholesterolemia