Effect of the Consumption of a Fermented Milk Enriched With Plant Sterols (Italy)

Inclusion Criteria:

• male and female aged 20-75 years; BMI between 19 and 30 kg/m2 , LDL-cholesterol plasma level between 130 mg/dL to 190 mg/dL (bounds included) with or without any statin monotherapy, with stabilized hypercholesterolemia (since more than 3 months), accepting to follow the dietary recommendations advisable for hypercholesterolemic patient (NCEP-ATP III guidelines), used to consume dairy products, agreeing to a written informed consent, for female: effective contraceptive methods used

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subject with plasma triglycerides (TG) levels > or = 350 mg/dL, with any cardiovascular event in the last 6 months, Subject taking any drugs affecting lipid metabolism (including hypocholesterolemic treatment) other than statin in monotherapy, Diabetic (type I and type II), smoking strictly more than 20 cigarettes/day, presenting known allergy or hypersensitivity to milk proteins, and soy, receiving systemic treatment or topical treatment likely to interfere with evaluation of the study parameters, with renal failure or any other metabolic disorder which could interfere with the evaluation of efficiency or safety of the product , pregnant and breast feeding women