Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) and cholesterol

What 3 graded rows on phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) agree on for cholesterol, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.

Consensus finder Rows from the Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides

What the rows agree on

Each block and row is one graded row from the Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) page, with its PubMed record.

Supplement

Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) Choose another

3 rows · 11,432 people

They agree: all 3 rows found an improvement.

No difference

Improved

Each block is one evidence row, sized by how many people it enrolled, with its grade inside.

From the rows

The best-graded row, grade A, is a meta-analysis of 9,648 people (2014) and found an improvement.

The rows run from 25 to 9,648 people, published from 2012 to 2024: 2 pooled reviews and 1 single study.

3 improved

Grade ALDL cholesterol across dose ranges · Improved
Meta-analysis · n 9,648 · 2014 · Adults in 124 randomized controlled studies (201 strata)
0.6–3.3 g/day (average 2.1 g/day; range 0.2–9 g) · Varied by study (typically weeks)
LDL fell gradually with dose, by an average of 6–12% at 0.6–3.3 g/day, levelling off at about 3 g/day; sterols and stanols behaved alike.
Row on the Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) page · PubMed 24780090 (opens PubMed)
Grade BLDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B · Improved
Meta-analysis, 27 studies · n 1,759 · 2024 · Adults in 27 randomized controlled trials (LDL analysis; 26 trials and 1,607 participants for apoB)
Varied; analysed as under 2 g/day and 2 g/day or more · 3 to 85 weeks
LDL fell by 0.38 mmol/L and apoB by 0.04 g/L versus control; HDL rose slightly, and the effect on total cholesterol, LDL and apoB rose with dose.
Row on the Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) page · PubMed 39432657 (opens PubMed)
Grade DLDL, plant sterol levels and cholesterol absorption · Improved
Crossover RCT · n 25 · 2012 · Adults heterozygous for an ABCG8 sitosterolemia gene variant (10) and controls (15)
About 1.6 g/day with supper · 4 weeks per period
LDL fell in both groups (heterozygotes 3.12 to 2.73 mmol/L), cholesterol absorption fell about 20%, and blood plant sterols rose, more so in heterozygotes.
Row on the Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) page · PubMed 22378727 (opens PubMed)