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Background: Plant sterols (or phytosterols) are primarily present in vegetable oils but are also found in smaller quantities in legumes, nuts, cereals, grains, wood pulp and leaves. Heart Foundation recommends adults consume 2 to 3 grams of plant sterols daily to lower LDL cholesterol.
Objective: To evaluate the acceptance level of Malaysian population towards plant sterol powder, explicitly in terms of taste, smell and colour.
Method: A total of 30 sachets of plant sterol powder were provided to 30 respondents from December 2016 to January 2017. All the attributes of plant sterol powder were evaluated on a 4-point rating scale (1: very unsatisfied; 2: unsatisfied; 3: satisfied; 4: very satisfied). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Chi-square analysis and Fisher’s exact test was used to examine the association between categorical variables.
Results: A total of 96.7% (n=29) of the respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the colour of the powder. In addition, there were 96.7% (n=29) and 60% (n=18) of the respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the smell and taste, respectively. A total of 73.3% (n=22) of the respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the overall attributes of the powder. There is significant association between overall acceptance with taste (p<0.001), in which respondents satisfied/very satisfied with the taste were satisfied/very satisfied with the product in overall.
Conclusion: The findings from this pilot test indicate that plant sterol powder is acceptable to Malaysian population. A randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of plant sterol consumption on cardio-metabolic parameters will be kick-started.
Key words: Plant sterol, phytosterol
Funding disclosure: Medispec (M) Sdn Bhd