Participants in a study carried out at the Cooper Institute in Dallas were asked to take a 5-gram dose of InnunoLin every day for six weeks. Despite the concession that they complied just 74 percent of the time, the researcher noted significant reductions in their cholesterol levels - six percent overall.
The results of study are published in the April issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (vol 81, issue 4, p792).
Both men and women with moderately high cholesterol - that is a total count between 210 and 270 - were shown to experience a 7 percent reduction in LDL or 'bad' cholesterol whereas HDL or 'good' cholesterol, remained constant.
"ImmunoLin seems to have correctly targeted LDL cholesterol," said lead researcher Conrad Earnest. "Unlike many natural products, ImmunoLin was effective almost immediately, showing benefits in less than one month."
"I would be curious about what happens in a longer trial, where we could improve compliance," he added.
Proliant said that beverages and nutrition bars are the ideal delivery systems for ImmunoLin and would aid compliance in future studies.
Launched five years ago, ImmunoLin is marketed at the immune support market and contains at least 45 percent immunoglobulin, a pathogen-neutralising protein.
In February Proliant launched a new bovine product, called NutraGammax with 90 per cent protein isolate and at least 20 percent immunoglobulin, which it said brings the benefits of ImmunoLin to the mass market.