Table 1.

Controversial hypocholesterolemic effects of prebiotic and synbiotic.

Compound(s)	Experimental design	Subjects	Dose; duration of the study	Effects	Ref.
Inulin	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind & crossover.	8 volunteers.	3–4 g/100 of inulin & wheat fiber daily for 12 weeks.	No significant improvement in lipid profiles.	[62]
Fructooligo-saccharides (FOS)	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind & crossover.	10 diabetic patients (6 men and 4 women); with plasma TC of 4.85–5.58 mmol/L.	20 g FOS/day for 4 weeks.	No significant improvement in lipid profiles.	[63]
Inulin	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind & crossover designed study; with 2 six-week treatment periods, separated by a six-week washout period.	25 subjects; with baseline LDL-C ranging from 3.36–5.17 mmol/L.	45 g chocolate bar (containing of 18 g of inulin) daily during treatment period.	No significant improvement in lipid profiles.	[64]
L. acidophilus&B. longum& fructooligo-saccharides (FOS)	Randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled & parallel.	55 normocholesterolemic volunteers.	3 capsules of synbiotics product (consisted of 109 CFU/g of L. acidophilus & B. longum, & 10–15 mg of FOS) once daily for 2 months.	No significant improvement in lipid profiles.	[65]

TC: Total cholesterol; LDL-C: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.