Plant Sterols Roles in Margarines

1. Plant SterolsRoles in Margarines Pennington Biomedical Research Center Division of Education Heli J. Roy PhDShanna Lundy, BS Phillip Brantley, PhD, Director

2. Overview… • Phytochemicals, or “plant chemicals,” have been studied recently in an effort to explain why the consumption of fruits and vegetables may help prevent coronary heart disease • Of the three types of phytochemicals, namely plant sterols, flavonoids, and plant sulfur compounds, only plant sterols have been incorporated into margarine spreads 2005

3. Plant Sterols • Plant sterols are naturally occurring components of plant cell membranes just as cholesterol is a part of animal cell membranes • The three most abundant sterols are: • Beta-sitosterol • Campesterol • stigmasterol Cellmembrane 2005

4. Plant Sterols • It was recognized in the 1950s that plant sterols lowered serum concentrations of cholesterol • Their chemical appearance is rather similar to cholesterol, but they are not found in any significant abundance in eukaryotic cells • Plant sterols and their derivatives act in the small bowel by competitively inhibiting intestinal absorption of cholesterol Thus lower serum concentrations of cholesterol are observed 2005

5. Benefits • A meta-analysis of 18 clinical trials supporting the efficacy of action of spreads containing plant sterols and stanols suggests that regular consumption of 2 g per day of these materials, compared with margarine alone, lowers LDL cholesterol concentrations by at least: • 0.5 mmol/L for individuals aged 50-59 years • And 0.4 mmol/L for individuals aged 40-49 years • At this level of LDL lowering, a reduction in heart disease risk of 25% would be expected in the populations! Larger than the effect that could be expected to be achieved by people reducing their intake of saturated fat! 2005

6. Take Control and Benecol • Margarine-like spreads that have recently been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include cholesterol lowering claims on their labels • Both are available in the dairy case of your local supermarket • The FDA authorizes the claims based on the evidence that the plant sterol and stanol esters in these products may help lower LDL cholesterol, without effecting HDL, reducing the risk of coronary heart disease in some individuals 2005

7. Any Difference in Take Control and Benecol? • Yes, however research indicates that both of the cholesterol-lowering margarines work equally well • Benecol is composed of plant stanols, which are hydrogenated forms of plant sterols • This type of margarine is synthetically produced as plant stanols exist only in small quantities in nature • Take Control contains unprocessed plant sterols, which are abundantly available 2005

8. Benecol Benecol • The key ingredient in Benecol is a plant stanol ester,derived from pine trees • Been shown to have a cholesterol lowering effect by reducing absorption 2005

9. Benecol • The effective daily dose of Benecol is 1.5 tablespoons a day eaten in three servings of 1.5 teaspoons • Unlike Take Control, the Benecol regular spread can be used for cooking and baking • However, Benecol light is not recommended for cooking 2005

10. Take Control • Uses unmodified plant sterols extracted from soybeans as its active ingredient • The plant sterols inhibit cholesterol absorption in the small intestine, lowering blood cholesterol levels 2005

11. Take Control • Recommendations include using one tablespoon of Take Control as a spread twice a day as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol • Contains 50 calories per tablespoon, which is half of that found in regular margarine • Cannot be used for cooking if the cholesterol-fighting effect of the margarine is hoped to be maintained because the plant sterols break down when heated 2005

12. Information. • 1.5 tablespoons of Benecol contains 120 kcal, 13.5 g of fat, and 1.5 g saturated fat • 1.5 tablespoons of Take Control contains 75 kcal, 9 g fat, and 1.5 g saturated fat 2005

13. Cost is $5.00 per 8 oz. Tub Cost is $4.00 per 12 oz. tub Cost Benecol Take Control 2005

14. Safety? • The most important concern about plant sterols is that they reduce the absorption of some fat soluble vitamins • Randomized trials have shown that plant sterols and stanols have lowered blood concentrations of beta carotene, alpha carotene, and vitamin E by 25, 10, and 8%, respectively • Since these vitamins protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation, a good recommendation would be to consume more fruit and vegetables to counter the decrease in absorption 2005

15. Future Areas of Research… • Include possible inverse links between plant sterol consumption (beta-sitosterol) and cancer risk • Compared with a cholesterol control, beta-sitosterol provided to LNCaP cells, a human prostate cancer cell line, retarded cell growth rate by 24% • Because prostate cancer occurs worldwide and is the second main cause of cancer-related death in men, future work will undoubtedly be focused in this area 2005

16. Sites… • http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/320/7238/861 • http://cats.med.uvm.edu/cats_teachingmod/family_practice/modules/nutrition/margarines/margarines.html • http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/166/12/1555 • http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/columnnn/nn001226.html 2005