Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sports, University of Zaragoza, Plaza Universidad 3, 22002-Huesca, Spain.
Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2012 Oct;22(10):849-55. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2011.01.010. Epub 2011 Jun 23.
Modulation of cholesterol absorption is potentially an effective way of lowering blood cholesterol levels and decreasing inherent cardiovascular risk in the general population. It is well established that cholesterol absorption efficiency can be modified by the intake of foods enriched with gram-doses of phytosterols, but little is known about the effects of phytosterols in the usual diet, even though moderate doses have been reported to affect whole-body cholesterol metabolism. A way to indirectly measure cholesterol synthesis and absorption rates is by quantification of serum non-cholesterol sterols. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of naturally occurring phytosterol intake on cholesterol absorption and serum cholesterol concentrations in a Spanish free-living population.
A total of 85 healthy volunteers were studied regarding their dietary habits (using a validated food frequency questionnaire), lipid profile and surrogate markers of cholesterol metabolism. Subjects were classified into tertiles of total phytosterol intake, and differences in lipid profile and markers of cholesterol metabolism were assessed by multivariate linear regression models adjusted for various confounders. The estimated daily intake of phytosterols and cholesterol was 489 (median) and 513 (mean) mg, respectively. Both serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentration and sitosterol-to-cholesterol ratio adjusted by sitosterol intake (a surrogate marker of intestinal cholesterol absorption) decreased significantly (p < 0.05, both) across tertiles of phytosterol intake.
Moderate doses of phytosterols in the habitual diet might have a protective effect on the lipid profile via decreasing cholesterol absorption.
调节胆固醇吸收可能是降低血液胆固醇水平和降低普通人群固有心血管风险的有效方法。众所周知，通过摄入富含甾醇的食物可以改变胆固醇吸收效率，但对于日常饮食中甾醇的作用知之甚少，尽管有报道称中等剂量的甾醇会影响全身胆固醇代谢。间接测量胆固醇合成和吸收速率的一种方法是定量检测血清非胆固醇甾醇。本研究旨在调查天然存在的甾醇摄入对西班牙自由生活人群胆固醇吸收和血清胆固醇浓度的作用。
共对 85 名健康志愿者进行了饮食习惯（使用经过验证的食物频率问卷）、血脂谱和胆固醇代谢替代标志物的研究。根据总甾醇摄入量将受试者分为三分位组，并通过多元线性回归模型调整各种混杂因素评估血脂谱和胆固醇代谢标志物的差异。甾醇和胆固醇的估计日摄入量分别为 489（中位数）和 513（平均值）mg。随着甾醇摄入量的三分位组的变化，血清低密度脂蛋白（LDL）-胆固醇浓度和甾醇/胆固醇比值（肠内胆固醇吸收的替代标志物）均显著降低（均 p < 0.05）。
习惯性饮食中适量的甾醇可能通过降低胆固醇吸收对血脂谱产生保护作用。
