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. 2009 Feb;30(4):404-9.
doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehn580. Epub 2009 Jan 21.

Controversial role of plant sterol esters in the management of hypercholesterolaemia

Oliver Weingärtner  1 , Michael Böhm, Ulrich Laufs
Affiliations

Controversial role of plant sterol esters in the management of hypercholesterolaemia

Oliver Weingärtner et al. Eur Heart J. 2009 Feb.
No abstract available

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of cholesterol, sitosterol (plant sterol), and sitostanol (plant stanol). Both plant sterols and plant stanols differ from cholesterol only in the side chain attached to the sterol ring. Plant stanols are saturated plant sterols without a double bond in the sterol ring. Due to their saturation status, plant stanols are less effectively absorbed. Esterified plant sterols and plant stanols are supplemented in ‘nutraceuticals’ to reduce serum cholesterol levels (modified from ref. 14).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Plant sterols reduce serum cholesterol levels. Total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol dependent on diet (modified from ref. 23).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Plant sterols increase cardiac risk. PROCAM-score for the 10 year risk to develop coronary heart disease (n = 477) according to subgroups with increasing risk (PROCAM-score <10, 10–20, >20). Slightly elevated sitosterol levels are associated with increased cardiac risk. *P < 0.05 low sitosterol (<0.21 mg/dL) vs. elevated sitosterol (>0.21 mg/dL) (modified from ref. 39).
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