Serum Cholesterol Lowering Edible Product

Abstract

The present invention relates to a serum LDL cholesterol lowering edible product containing plant sterol ester and/or plant stanol ester, and especially to a dietary supplement product.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A gelled emulsion comprising:
 plant sterol ester and/or plant stanol ester in an amount of 40-75% by weight;   one or more cariogenic sugars and/or one or more polyols, wherein the total amount of the cariogenic sugars is at most 20% and the total amount of the polyols is at most 50%;   a gelling agent in an amount of 0.1-15% by weight; and   water in an amount of 9-29% by weight;   wherein the gelled emulsion is solid at room temperature.   
     
     
         2 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the gelled emulsion further comprises triglyceride fat in an amount of 0-20% by weight. 
     
     
         3 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more cariogenic sugars are selected from the group consisting of sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose and lactose. 
     
     
         4 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the total amount of the one or more cariogenic sugars is at most 15%, by weight. 
     
     
         5 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the total amount of the one or more cariogenic sugars is at most 5% by weight 
     
     
         6 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the total amount of the one or more cariogenic sugars is 0-0.1% by weight. 
     
     
         7 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more polyols are selected from the group consisting of sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt, lactitol, propylene glycol and glycerol. 
     
     
         8 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the polyol is glycerol and xylitol. 
     
     
         9 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the total amount of the one or more polyols is at most 40% by weight. 
     
     
         10 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the total amount of the one or more polyols is between 4-35% by weight. 
     
     
         11 . The emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the gelling agent is selected from the group consisting of gelatin, carrageenan, pectin, alginate, gellan gum, agar, gum Arabic, starch, starch derivatives, inulin, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, glucomannan and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the amount of the gelling agent is between 0.2-14% by weight. 
     
     
         13 . The emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the amount of the gelling agent is between 0.5%-10% by weight. 
     
     
         14 . The emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the amount of water is between 10-28% by weight. 
     
     
         15 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein the size of the dose unit of the gelled emulsion is at least 0.3 g. 
     
     
         16 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein water activity of the gelled emulsion is at most 0.90. 
     
     
         17 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein its energy content per gram of the gelled emulsion is at most 40 kJ. 
     
     
         18 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 , wherein it is a dietary supplement product. 
     
     
         19 . The gelled emulsion according to  claim 18  for lowering serum LDL cholesterol level. 
     
     
         20 . An edible product comprising the gelled emulsion according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         21 . The edible product according to  claim 20 , wherein it is uncoated. 
     
     
         22 . The edible product according to  claim 20  wherein it is packed in a blister. 
     
     
         23 . A method for preparing the edible product according to  claim 20 , comprising:
 a) preparing an aqueous phase by mixing water, one or more cariogenic sugars and/or one or more polyols and a gelling agent at a temperature of at least 40° C.;   b) melting plant sterol ester and/or plant stanol ester at a temperature of at least 40° C.;   c) emulsifying the melted plant sterol ester and/or plant stanol ester with the aqueous phase at a temperature of at least 40° C.;   d) feeding the obtained emulsion at a temperature of at least 40° C. in dose unit moulds;   e) allowing the emulsion to cool to or below the gelation temperature of the aqueous phase to obtain a dose unit of the gelled emulsion;   f) optionally coating the dose unit; and   g) packing the obtained dose unit.