Phytosterols Curb Weight Gain

VANCOUVER, British ColumbiaUniversity of British Columbia researchers have found supplementation with unesterfied phytosterols, both alone and in combination with ascorbic acid, reduces mass accumulation and alters food transit time. They published their results in the June 28 issue of Lipids in Health and Disease (10(1):107, 2011).

Researchers previously found supplementation with disodium ascorbyl phytostanyl phosphate (DAPP)a water-soluble compound of hydrophobic plant stanol covalently bonded to ascorbic acidreduced mass accumulation compared to a high-fat diet. The current study was designed to provide insight into the mechanism of action by examining the effects of phytosterols with or without ascorbic acid supplementation in rats fed a high-fat diet. The study involved rats given either pphytosterol alone, phytosterol with ascorbic acid, or a high-fat control diet.

The sterol-ascorbic acid group gained an average 21-percent less mass each week from weeks seven to 12, compared to the high-fat control groupthe mean difference in absolute mass between the sterol group and the high-fat control was 10.0 percent%, with a difference in mass accumulation of 21.6 percent. Neither the sterol nor the ascorbic acid alone affected mass loss.

The researchers concluded, the supplements are synergistic with respect to mass accumulation, and the esterification of the compounds further potentiates the response.  They further noted chronic administration of phytosterol, with or without ascorbic acid, alters fecal output and food transit time, providing insight into the possibility of long-term changes in intestinal function relative to phytosterol supplementation.