Immunoglobulin protein isolate benefits by reducing cholesterol

07/04/05 ImmunoLin, an immunoglobulin protein isolate, developed by Proliant Health Ingredients, reduced cholesterol in a new study to be published in the April issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005 81 (4) p 792).

The six-week study, conducted by the Dallas, TX-based Cooper Institute, found that men and women with moderately high cholesterol--210 to 270 total count--had a 6% drop in total cholesterol after just three weeks. More importantly, LDL cholesterol--the "bad" cholesterol most closely associated with heart disease--decreased by 7% while HDL, the "good" cholesterol, remained constant.

Inspiration for the study came when researchers at the company observed that two studies in the 1990s showed milk from immunized cows had higher immunoglobulin content than did milk from non-immunized cows, and appeared to lower cholesterol in those who drank it. The researchers surmised that the immunoglobulin, a protein fraction in whey protein, was responsible for the effect. Although this cholesterol-lowering effect was unusual for an oral protein, researchers decided to test their theory with a one-week pilot study conducted in-house. The positive results led to the full-blown clinical study.