The lipid-lowering effect of once-daily soya drink fortified with phytosterols in normocholesterolaemic Chinese: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Phytosterols reduce intestinal cholesterol absorption and help to lower LDL-cholesterol. Many Chinese adults are lactose-intolerant and cannot tolerate bovine milk enriched with phytosterol. Soya-milk is a common beverage in Asia and it has beneficial effects on general health. We therefore conducted a randomized double-blind controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a phytosterols-enriched soya drink in lowering serum LDL-cholesterol level (primary outcome) and other cardiovascular parameters (secondary outcomes).

Methods: One hundred and fifty-nine normocholesterolaemic participants (85 men and 74 women; aged 19-79) were randomized to daily intake of one serving of phytosterols-enriched soya drink (N = 82), equivalent to 2 g of phytosterol per day, or a matched soya drink without phytosterols (N = 77) for 3 weeks. Adverse events, withdrawal and compliance were documented.

Results: Among the treatment group (N = 82), phytosterols-enriched soya drink significantly decreased LDL-cholesterol by 5.96% (SE 1.48, 95% CI - 8.91%, - 3.00%) with a median of 6.74% compared with baseline, resulting in a significant reduction of 4.70% (95% CI - 8.89%, - 0.51%; p = 0.028) with a median of 5.20% compared with placebo (N = 77). In contrast, there were no significant changes in other lipid parameters, blood glucose, blood pressure, body weight or waist circumference. Remarkably, 95% of the participants randomized to the fortified drink reported no adverse events at all.

Conclusions: Daily consumption of a phytosterols-enriched soya drink may be a simple and cost-neutral means of lowering LDL-cholesterol in individuals in China, with massive population and rising incidence of coronary heart disease (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02881658; date of registration: 14 Aug 2016).