Cholesterol-lowering effects of bovine serum immunoglobulin in participants with mild hypercholesterolemia

ABSTRACT
Background	The consumption of milk products has been shown to lower cholesterol. The mechanism of action surrounding this observation has been attributed to the protein fraction of milk and serum.
Objective	We examined the effect of an oral serum bovine immunoglobulin protein fraction (bIg) derived from US Department of Agriculture-approved beef (aged _30 mo) on lipid indexes in humans.
Design	Participants included men and women (aged 25-70 y) with hypercholesterolemia (5.44-6.99 mmol/L) who were not receiving cholesterol-lowering medication. Treatment consisted of the randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled administration of 5 g bIg for 6wk in 52 participants (n_26 each in treatment and control groups).
Results	Mean (_SD) total cholesterol (TC) at baseline was 6.33_ 0.1 mmol/L for bIg and 6.16_0.1 mmol/L for placebo. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance covaried for change in total energy and alcohol intake and Tukey's post hoc examination of our data showed that the bIg-treated group had a significant reduction in TC at 3 wk (5.98_0.5 mmol/L; P_0.05) and 6 wk (5.97_ 0.7 mmol/L; P_0.05). The concentration at 6 wk was significantly different from that in the placebo group (P _ 0.05). This reduction was largely due to a decrease in LDL cholesterol in the bIg-treated group from baseline (4.12 _ 0.6 mmol/L) at 3 wk (3.92 _ 0.7 mmol/L, P_0.05) and at 6 wk (3.84_0.6 mmol/L, P_0.05); the 6-wk concentration differed significantly between the treatment and placebo groups (P _ 0.05). We observed no significant changes in the placebo group or in any other lipid indexes or markers associated with hepatorenal or cardiovascular function.
Conclusion	Consumption of bIg appears to positively modulate the primary lipid indexes associated with cardiovascular disease.
AmJ Clin Nutr 2005;81:792-8