Cognis' Vegapure improves lipid profiles

Germany-headquartered Cognis says that the first published human study to confirm that regular use of plant sterol esters capsules are effective in improving lipid profiles without dietary intervention has appeared in the April 9 on-line edition of Lipids in Health and Disease. The speciality chemicals firm supplied its Vegapure brand plant sterol esters as the active substance for the investigation.

"In just three weeks after taking the plant sterol esters capsules, participants saw their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol drop by a significant 4% which could translate to a 5% to 10% reduction in cardiovascular risk in the first five years, and by 10% over a lifetime," said David Cai, senior scientist, Cognis Nutrition & Health, and one of the authors on the study.

In the double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 16 adults went through a four-week placebo phase, followed by a two-week wash-out period, then a four-week intervention phase. During this final part of the study, participants consumed 1.3g of Vegapure natural plant sterol esters in capsules each day and were instructed to maintain their normal diets and physical activity.