Functional ingredients capable of tackling cholesterol levels can include anthocyanins.
Anthocyanins can be ranked among functional ingredients for tackling unhealthy cholesterol levels, reports NutraIngredients.com.
The nutraceutical business website explains that anthocyanins have been associated with a one-fifth elevation in removal of cholesterol from cells.
A study of 120 human participants led to the findings, with the results due to appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
In the study, test subjects were given anthocyanins derived from berries, or a placebo formula, to examine the impact of the functional ingredients on cholesterol.
The placebo group's rate of cholesterol removal in the body rose by 0.2 per cent during the study, compared with a 20 per cent improvement in the anthocyanin group.
Researchers from Sun Yat-Sen University write: "Anthocyanin supplementation in humans improves LDL and HDL cholesterol concentrations and enhances the cellular cholesterol efflux."
In March, Australian Functional Foods released two extracts derived from cherries amid claims that the anthocyanin content of the fruit can help to repair muscle and tackle obesity and inflammation.
