SHORT COMMUNICATION Phytosterols in nonfat and low-fat beverages have no impact on the LDL size phenotype A Charest 1 , C Vanstone 2 , MP St-Onge 2 , W Parson 2 , PJH Jones 1,2 and B Lamarche 1 * 1 Institute on Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Laval University, Que´bec, Canada; and 2 School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que´bec, Canada Objective: To examine the impact of nonfat and low-fat phytosterol-enriched beverages on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) electrophoretic characteristics. Design: Double-blind, randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled dietary trial. Setting: Diets were prepared and consumed at the Mary Emily Clinical Nutrition Research Unit of McGill University. Analyses were performed at the Institute on Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods of Laval University. Subjects and intervention: In total, 15 moderately hypercholesterolemic persons consumed each of three experimental diets that each comprised a different beverage: nonfat placebo (NF control), nonfat with phytosterols (NFPS) or low-fat with phytosterols (LFPS). Participants consumed three beverages daily at meal time for a total of 1.8 g of phytosterols per day. Nondenaturing 2–16% polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoreses were used to characterize LDL size characteristics. Results: The NFPS and LFPS beverage induced no significant changes in several features of the LDL size phenotype compared to the control diet. Conclusion: The consumption of phytosterol-supplemented nonfat and low-fat beverages is not associated with clinically meaningful changes in the LDL particle size phenotype. Sponsorship: This study was supported partly by the Canada Research Chair in Nutrition, Functional Foods and Cardiovascular Health (B Lamarche) and by the Dairy Farmers of Canada. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 801–804. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602142 Published online 27 April 2005 Keywords: Coronary heart disease; phytosterols; beverage; small; dense LDL Introduction Phytosterols enriched foods have been shown to reduce dietary cholesterol absorption, and hence plasma total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations (Jones et al, 1999, 2000). Phytosterols generally require fat vehicles for their solubilization due to their low water solubility and very slow rate of dissolution in physiological bile salt (Armstrong & Carey, 1987). However, low-fat- phytosterol supplements may appear as more adequate vehicles for a healthy diet. Few studies have shown that low- fat phytosterol enriched foods can significantly lower plasma total and LDL-cholesterol levels (Nestel et al, 2001; Volpe et al, 2001). In some studies, the reduction with low-fat foods was of the same magnitude as oil-based products (Tikkanen et al, 2001; Matvienko et al, 2002; Mensink et al, 2002). There is a large body of evidence indicating that small, dense LDL are more atherogenic than are larger, less dense particles (Austin, 2000). Only limited information exists concerning the effect of phytosterols on the LDL particle size phenotype (Pedersen et al, 2000; Matvienko et al, 2002; Charest et al, 2004), and no study has examined the effect of low-fat and nonfat phytosterol-supplemented bever- ages on LDL size characteristics. The objective of this study Received 2 February 2004; revised 20 December 2004; accepted 17 February 2005; published online 27 April 2005 *Correspondence: B Lamarche, Institute on Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Pavillon des Services, Office 2742, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Que ´bec, Canada G1K 7P4. E-mail: benoit.lamarche@inaf.ulaval.ca Guarantor: B Lamarche. Contributors: AC was responsible for characterization of the LDL by PAGE, for data analysis and redaction of the article under the supervision and in the laboratory of BL. PJH designed and conducted the intervention study at McGill University. CAV and MPSO con- tributed to the study design and managed the dietary intervention. WP monitored the participants during the study. All contributors approved the manuscript. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 801–804 & 2005 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 0954-3007/05 $30.00 www.nature.com/ejcn