title: Effects of diets enriched with two different plant stanol ester mixtures on plasma ubiquinol-10 and fat-soluble antioxidant concentrations.
abstract: Plant stanols lower intestinal cholesterol absorption. This causes a decrease in serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, despite a compensatory increase in cholesterol synthesis. We therefore hypothesized that plant stanols also change LDL-cholesterol-standardized concentrations of ubiquinol-10 (a side product of the cholesterol synthesis cascade) and of those fat-soluble antioxidants that are mainly carried by LDL. To examine this, 112 nonhypercholesterolemic subjects consumed low erucic acid rapeseed oil (LEAR)-based margarine and shortening for 4 weeks. For the next 8 weeks, 42 subjects consumed the same products, while the other subjects received products with vegetable oil-based stanols (2.6 g sitostanol plus 1.2 g campestanol daily, n = 36) or wood-based stanols (3.7 g sitostanol plus 0.3 g campestanol daily, n = 34). Consumption of both plant stanol ester mixtures increased cholesterol synthesis and lowered cholesterol absorption, as indicated by increased serum cholesterol-standardized lathosterol and decreased plant sterol concentrations, respectively. Compared with the control group, absolute plasma ubiquinol-10 concentrations were lowered by 12.3% +/- 18.9% (-0.14 microg/mL v. the control group; P =.004; 95% confidence interval [CI] for the difference in changes, -0.05 to -0.22 microg/mL) in the vegetable oil-based group and by 15.4% +/- 13.0% (-0.17 microg/mL v. the control group; P <.001; 95% CI for the difference, -0.08 to -0.27 microg/mL) in the wood-based group. Changes in LDL-cholesterol-standardized ubiquinol-10 concentrations were not significantly changed. The most lipophylic antioxidants, the hydrocarbon carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and lycopene), decreased most, followed by the less lipophylic oxygenated carotenoids (lutein/zeaxanthin and beta-cryptoxanthin) and the tocopherols. These reductions were related to the reduction in LDL, which carry most of these antioxidants. The decrease in the hydrocarbon carotenoids, however, was also significantly associated with a decrease in cholesterol absorption. LDL-cholesterol-standardized antioxidant concentrations were not changed, except for beta-carotene, which was still, although not significantly, lowered by about 10%. We conclude that the increase in endogenous cholesterol synthesis during plant stanol ester consumption does not result in increased LDL-cholesterol-standardized concentrations of ubiquinol-10, a side product of the cholesterol synthesis cascade. Furthermore, decreases in absolute fat-soluble antioxidant concentrations are related to decreases in LDL-cholesterol. However, for the most lipophylic carotenoids, some of the reduction was also related to the decrease in cholesterol absorption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Plat
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Mensink
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D004883:Erucic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005223:Fats; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008383:Margarine; D008875:Middle Aged; D010840:Phytosterols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010945:Plants, Edible / Q000737:chemistry*; D000074262:Rapeseed Oil; D012855:Sitosterols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012995:Solubility; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood*; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood; D014934:Wood
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D004883:Erucic Acids; D005223:Fats; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D010840:Phytosterols; D010938:Plant Oils; D000074262:Rapeseed Oil; D012855:Sitosterols; C049811:erucic acid; D014801:Vitamin A; D014451:Ubiquinone; D014810:Vitamin E; D002338:Carotenoids; C026663:ubiquinol-10; C003535:campestanol; C001521:lathosterol; D008383:Margarine; D002784:Cholesterol; C021255:stigmastanol