Plant sterols may unlock new cholesterol control pathway

NCT ID NCT07142317

First seen Nov 01, 2025 · Last updated Jun 23, 2026 · Updated 36 times

Summary

This study tests whether plant sterols, found in some foods, change how a newly discovered protein called cholesin works. Cholesin is released from the gut after eating cholesterol and tells the liver to make less cholesterol. Researchers will give 23 healthy adults three different shakes—low cholesterol, high cholesterol, and high cholesterol with plant sterols—and measure gene activity in their blood and gut cells. The goal is to understand how plant sterols might help lower cholesterol at the molecular level.

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This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.

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Contacts and locations

Study contacts

  • Contact

    Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

  • Contact

    Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

Locations

  • Maastricht University

    Maastricht, Limburg, 6229 ER, Netherlands

    Contact

    Contact

    Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

    Contact

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance

plant sterols

What this could lead to

If successful, this could help explain how plant sterols lower cholesterol, potentially pointing toward new dietary or drug strategies for managing cholesterol.

What could go wrong

This is a small, early-stage study in healthy people, not patients. It only looks at short-term gene expression changes, not long-term health outcomes, so results may not apply to those with high cholesterol or heart disease.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.