Effects of cereal and nata de coco supplementation on serum lipids in human

The purpose of the study was to evaluate cereals and nata de coco (food product produced by the bacterial fermentation of coconut water) supplementation on lipid status in 22 subjects with hyperlipidemia. The subjects consisted of 11 men and 11 women aged 32–75yrs, and had serum total cholesterol (TC) level of ≥5.2 mmol/L, serum total triglyceride (TG) level of ≥1.7 mmol/L and LDL-C level of ≥3.4 mmol/L. The subjects were given 15g of the supplement twice daily for 20 weeks. These daily 30g supplement consisted of unpolished rice, hulled mung bean, sweet corn, and nata de coco and provided 122.6kcal, 5.5g of protein, 0.5g of fat, 24.1g of carbohydrate and 2.7g of dietary fiber. After 20 weeks, the subjects were divided into 2 groups, according to their dietary compliance, group A: ≥90% compliance, and group B: <90% compliance with the assigned supplement intake. There were 15 subjects in group A, and 7 subjects in group B. Results showed that in group A the mean TG levels at week 4, 8, and 16 and TC at week 16 were significantly different from week 0 (p<0.05), but no significant differences were observed in LDL-C and HDL-C. In group B, no significant changes were observed. Thus, the results appeared to indicate that health food from cereals and nata de coco may reduce the serum TG and TC in hyperlipidemic patients.