The present invention relates to a serum LDL cholesterol lowering edible product containing plant sterol ester and/or plant stanol ester, and especially to a dietary supplement product.

The disclosure is generally directed to methods and compositions for reducing blood cholesterol levels, and more particularly to dietary supplements for reducing blood cholesterol levels. The dietary supplements for reducing cholesterol typically comprise at least one phytosterol source, at least one soluble fiber source, at least one guggulsterone source, and at least one policosanol source.

A dietary supplement composition is formulated in a therapeutic amount to treat and alleviate symptoms of hot flashes in a female subject, such as experiencing symptoms of perimenopause. The composition includes a phytoestrogen and lycopene in an oral dosage form. The phytoestrogen may include a plant lignan including at least one of Matairesinol, 7-hydroxymatairesinol, Secoisolariciresinol, Lariciresinol and Pinoresinol. The lycopene may include a lycopene complex having at least one of phytoene, phytofluene, beta-carotene, tocopherols and phytosterols.

Provided is a cycloartenol-containing composition which can be used as a material for food and beverage, cosmetics, or the like, and has high biological activities. The cycloartenol-containing composition has a cycloartenol content of more than 37% by mass, a 24-methylenecycloartanol content of more than 5% by mass, and a sum content of cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartanol of more than 76% by mass, relative to the total mass of sterols.

Provided is a cycloartenol-containing composition which can be used as a material for food and beverage, cosmetics, or the like, and has high biological activities. The cycloartenol-containing composition has a cycloartenol content of more than 37% by mass, a 24-methylenecycloartanol content of more than 5% by mass, and a sum content of cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartanol of more than 76% by mass, relative to the total mass of sterols.

A major object of the present technology is to provide a technology for obtaining an aloe extract which has an excellent processability into foods and contains sufficient amounts of -sitosterol and aloe-derived dietary fibers as functional components. The present technology provides a method for manufacturing an aloe extract containing -sitosterol, phospholipids, and dietary fibers which involves carrying out: a homogenization step for homogenizing an aloe mesophyll solution; an enzymatic degradation step for adding a polysaccharide-degrading enzyme to the homogenized aloe mesophyll solution and degrading polysaccharides contained in the aforementioned homogenized aloe mesophyll solution; and a membrane filtration step for membrane-filtering the enzyme-degraded aloe mesophyll solution with a microfiltration membrane or an ultrafiltration membrane and recovering the retentate fraction as an aloe extract.

A major object of the present technology is to provide a technology for obtaining an aloe extract which has an excellent processability into foods and contains sufficient amounts of -sitosterol and aloe-derived dietary fibers as functional components. The present technology provides a method for manufacturing an aloe extract containing -sitosterol, phospholipids, and dietary fibers which involves carrying out: a homogenization step for homogenizing an aloe mesophyll solution; an enzymatic degradation step for adding a polysaccharide-degrading enzyme to the homogenized aloe mesophyll solution and degrading polysaccharides contained in the aforementioned homogenized aloe mesophyll solution; and a membrane filtration step for membrane-filtering the enzyme-degraded aloe mesophyll solution with a microfiltration membrane or an ultrafiltration membrane and recovering the retentate fraction as an aloe extract.

A method of delaying digestion by an animal or a human of carbohydrates in food, comprising administering an effective amount of one or more flavonoids to the animal or human in conjunction with the food, wherein the flavonoids are selected from luteolin, apigenin, tricin and their pharmaceutically acceptable analogs and derivatives.

Methods are disclosed for fortifying a beverage with one or more citrus phytochemicals while concealing the bitter taste of these compounds in the beverage. These methods comprise microencapsulating the citrus phytochemicals and adding the microencapsulated citrus phytochemicals to beverages. Also disclosed are beverages fortified with one or more microencapsulated citrus phytochemicals but which do not have the bitter taste characteristics of these compounds.

The present invention relates to a novel use of fucosterol and, more specifically, to a composition for skin whitening or composition for skin moisturizing, which is characterized by containing fucosterol. Fucosterol of chemical formula 1 below has an excellent whitening effect of inhibiting melanin generation and tyrosinase activity, and thus can be used as an active ingredient of a cosmetic composition for whitening, a food composition, or a pharmaceutical composition. Furthermore, the fucosterol of chemical formula 1 below has an excellent moisturizing function by forming dead skin cell membranes, promoting the differentiation of dead skin cells, and generating natural moisturization factors, and thus can be used as an active ingredient of a cosmetic composition for moisturizing, a food composition, or a pharmaceutical composition

##STR00001##