Progress and prospective of plant sterol and plant stanol research: report of the Maastricht meeting

Abstract

Abundant evidence over past decades shows that foods with added plant sterols and plant stanols lower serum LDL cholesterol concentrations. However, despite the overwhelming data, numerous scientific questions still remain. The objective of this paper is to summarize the considerations of 60 academic and industrial experts who participated in the scientific meeting in Maastricht, the Netherlands, on issues related to the health effects of plant sterols and plant stanols. The meeting participants discussed issues including efficacy profiling, heterogeneity in responsiveness, effects beyond LDL-C lowering, and food formulation aspects of plant sterol and stanol consumption. Furthermore, aspects related to the potential atherogenicity of elevated circulatory plant sterol concentrations were discussed. Until the potential atherogenicity of plant sterols is resolved, based on the results >200 clinical trials, the risk to benefit of plant sterol use is favorable. Evidence on these topics in plant sterol and plant stanol research was presented and used to reach consensus where possible. It was concluded that endpoint studies looking at plant sterol and plant stanol efficacy are needed, however, there was no clear opinion on the best marker and best design for such a study. Based on the current scientific evidence, plant sterols and plant stanols are recommended for use as dietary options to lower serum cholesterol.