ORIGINAL PAPER Insoluble Carob Fiber Rich in Polyphenols Lowers Total and LDL Cholesterol in Hypercholesterolemic Sujects Baltasar Ruiz-Roso & José C.Quintela & Ester de la Fuente & Javier Haya & Lourdes Pérez-Olleros Published online: 22 January 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 AbstractRecently, polyphenols have been found to affect blood lipidsin animalsin a similarmanneras soluble dietary fibre. The aim was to assess whether an insoluble dietary fiber very rich in polyphenols has a beneficial effect on serum lipids in humans. In a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical study with parallel arms,88 volunteerswith hypercholesterolemia were randomly assigned to consume daily either,fiber with insoluble 84% polyphenols 4 g twice a day (n=43) or placebo (n= 45).Serum total, LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglycer- ides were assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks.The insolublepolyphenolsconsumption reducedthe total cholesterol by 17.8±6.1% (p<0.05), LDL cholesterol by 22.5±8.9% (p<0.001), LDL: HDL cholesterol ratio by 26.2±14.3% (p<0.001) and triglycerides by 16.3 ±23.4% (p <0.05) at the end of the study compared with baseline. No significant differences were found during the study time in the placebo group for the lipid profile. The consumption of fiber very rich in insoluble polyphenols shows beneficial effects on human blood lipid profile and may be effective in prevention and treatment of hyperlipemia. Keywords Hyperlipemia . Total cholesterol . LDL cholesterol . HDL cholesterol . Dietary fiber . Insoluble polyphenols . Exxenterol Abbreviations CVD Cardiovascular disease LDL Low-density lipoprotein EXX Exxenterol HDL High-density lipoprotein AST Aspartate aminotransferase ALT Alanine aminotransferase FDA Food and drug administration Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD)remainsthe top cause of death in the western countries. Hypercholesterolemia is on of the major risk factors of CVD, together with saturated fat,trans fat intake and obesity. Although a low-fat diet is the primary intervention for hyperlipidemia, diet alone sometimes may not produce a sufficient long-term respon on blood lipids, effectivenutritionalinterventions in prevention and treatment of hypercholesterolemia are of major importance [1, 2]. A high fiber diet has been linked to a decreased risk of CVD, independent of dietary fat intake, energy intake and other dietary factors [2]. Several meta-analyses have show thatthe consumptionof solublefiber reducestotal cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels[3–5].Thus,supplement intake with pectin, guar, psyllium, oatbran and leguminoses have shown total and LDL serum cholesterol reduction in over 80% of the trials B. Ruiz-Roso (*) : L. Pérez-Olleros Departamento de Nutrición y Bromatología I (Nutrición), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain e-mail: ruizrojo@farm.ucm.es J. C. Quintela : E. de la Fuente Departamento de Investigación y Desarrollo, Puleva Biotech S.A., Granada, Spain J. Haya Hospital Universitario Santa Cristina, Madrid,Spain Plant Foods Hum Nutr (2010) 65:50–56 DOI 10.1007/s11130-009-0153-9