Kao, Japanese NIHN Find Cholesterol-Lowering Oil

Kao, Japanese NIHN Find Cholesterol-Lowering Oil

TOKYO--Kao Corp., based here, and the state-run National Institute of Health and Nutrition (NIHN), announced in November that it found a method to give food oil the benefit of reducing the density of cholesterol in human blood. The researchers combined phytosterols with a diacylglycerol (an extracted fat from soybeans and rapeseed) that has been processed with an enzyme.

Kao and NIHN tested 71 participants with blood cholesterol over 220 mg per deciliter. After one month, the density of cholesterol in the blood of 26 subjects dropped an average of 7.1 percent, according to Kao. In addition, the LDL ("bad" cholesterol) in 23 subjects decreased 8.4 percent. On Dec. 12, the company reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status to diacylglycerol. For additional information, visit www.kao.co.jp/e.

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