Trial reportThe American journal of clinical nutrition2015
The effect of a low-fat spread with added plant sterols on vascular function markers: results of the Investigating Vascular Function Effects of Plant Sterols (INVEST) study.
Trial report in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01803178 (The Effect of Plant Sterols on Vascular Function), which is not on this map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of Plant Sterols on Vascular Function
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of phytosterol-rich foods on lipid profile and inflammatory markers in patients with hyperlipidemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Phytosterol compositions of enriched products influence their cholesterol-lowering efficacy: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2019Pooled it
- Spirituality-Based Intervention in Hypertension: EFfects on Blood PrEssure and EndotheliaL Function-FEEL Trial Results.Global heart · 2025Trial
- The Acute Ingestion of Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) Infusion Does Not Modify Endothelial Function, Hemodynamics, or Heart Rate Variability: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial.Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2024Trial
- Effect of a novel functional tomato sauce (OsteoCol) from vine-ripened tomatoes on serum lipids in individuals with common hypercholesterolemia: tomato sauce and hypercholesterolemia.Journal of translational medicine · 2021Trial
- Overview of the effect of dietary supplementation with plant sterols on low-grade inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress in patients with hypercholesterolemia.Lipids in health and disease · 2026Review
- Article
- Serum Values of Cholesterol Absorption and Synthesis Biomarkers in Japanese Healthy Subjects: The CACHE Study HEALTHY Analysis.Journal of atherosclerosis and thrombosis · 2023Article
- Molecular Docking Study of Phytosterols inJournal of experimental pharmacology · 2023Article
- Nutraceutical Approaches to Dyslipidaemia: The Main Formulative Issues Preventing Efficacy.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Efficacy of Plant Sterol-Enriched Food for Primary Prevention and Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia: A Systematic Literature Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Effects of Orlistat/Phentermine versus Phentermine on Vascular Endothelial Cell Function in Obese and Overweight Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2021Article
- Cardioprotective Effects of Dietary Phytochemicals on Oxidative Stress in Heart Failure by a Sex-Gender-Oriented Point of View.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2020Review
- Potential role of phytochemicals in metabolic syndrome prevention and therapy.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2019Article
- Clinical Advances in Immunonutrition and Atherosclerosis: A Review.Frontiers in immunology · 2019Review
- Review
- Progress and perspectives in plant sterol and plant stanol research.Nutrition reviews · 2018Review
- LDL-Cholesterol Lowering of Plant Sterols and Stanols-Which Factors Influence Their Efficacy?Nutrients · 2018Review
- Cholesterol-Lowering Nutraceuticals Affecting Vascular Function and Cardiovascular Disease Risk.Current cardiology reports · 2018Review
- Diet-induced early-stage atherosclerosis in baboons: Lipoproteins, atherogenesis, and arterial compliance.Journal of medical primatology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPlant sterols (PSs) lower LDL cholesterol, an established risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). No direct evidence is available supporting a reduced risk of CAD for foods with added PSs. Endothelial dysfunction is seen as an early indicator of atherosclerotic damage.
objectivesThis study was primarily designed to investigate the effect of a low-fat spread with added PSs on brachial artery endothelial function as measured by flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Second, effects on arterial stiffness, blood pressure, serum lipids, and plasma PS concentrations were investigated. We hypothesized that PSs would not worsen FMD but would rather modestly improve FMD.
designThis study had a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel design. After a 4-wk run-in period, 240 hypercholesterolemic but otherwise healthy men and women consumed 20 g/d of low-fat spread without (control) or with added PSs (3 g/d) during 12 wk. Pre- and postintervention, vascular function measurements and blood sampling were performed.
resultsIn total, 232 participants completed the study period. For the primary endpoint FMD, 199 participants were included in the statistical analysis. PS intake did not affect FMD (+0.01 percentage points; 95% CI: -0.73, 0.75) compared with control. Measures of arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity and augmentation index) and blood pressure were also not significantly changed compared with control. After PS intervention, LDL cholesterol significantly decreased on average by 0.26 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.40, -0.12) or 6.7% compared with control. Plasma sitosterol and campesterol concentrations significantly increased in the PS group up to on average 11.5 μmol/L and 13.9 μmol/L (expressed as geometric means), respectively.
conclusionsThe intake of a low-fat spread with added PSs neither improved nor worsened FMD or other vascular function markers in hypercholesterolemic men and women. As expected, serum LDL cholesterol decreased, whereas plasma PSs increased after PS intake. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01803178.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.