## 3 Results  
### Participant Characteristics  
A total of 62 volunteers were screened, and 52 subjects underwent randomization. Four volunteers declined to participate in the study due to personal reasons. All of the enrolled subjects (men: 17; women: 35) completed the trial according to the study design. The subjects' characteristics in this study are summarized in Table 1.  
Figure 2: The timeline of the study. The two treatment groups were well matched for age, sex, weight, height, and BMI at the baseline. The final distribution between men and women did not show any significant differences (\(p>0.05\)). All of the volunteers of this study were from the same village. The meal pattern of the volunteers was recorded. Mainly, they consumed rice, chili paste, vegetables, dairy products and meat. There were no changes observed in the eating behavior of the volunteers. Effect of L. paracasei Supplementation on Cholesterol, Oxidative Stress, and Biomarkers at Baseline, 6 Weeks, and 12 Weeks  
There were no adverse effects seen in the study subjects. In the _L. paracasei_ supplementation group, there were significant differences within the group in terms of MDA, lactic acid, IL-10 and IFN-\(\gamma\) after 12 weeks of supplementation compared to the baseline. MDA was found to significantly decrease (from 0.54 \(\pm\) 0.02 to 0.41 \(\pm\) 0.02 \(\upmu\)mol/mL) at the end of treatment, whereas lactic acid, IL-10 and IFN-\(\gamma\) were found to significantly increase (from 3.33 \(\pm\) 0.41 to 6.41 \(\pm\) 1.06 \(\upmu\)mol/g; 1.11 \(\pm\) 0.28 to 48.40 \(\pm\) 15.09 pg/mL; and 40.52 \(\pm\) 8.54 to 153.16 \(\pm\) 29.92 pg/mL (\(p<0.05\)), respectively). However, there were no significant differences in the placebo group at a different time. The changes in the within-group study parameters at different times are summarized in Table 2.  
From the baseline to 6 weeks, the _L. paracasei_ supplementation group and the placebo group showed significantly different FBS (\(-0.85\) vs. 8.58 mg/dL; \(p=0.031\)) and lactic acid (2.21 \(\upmu\)mol/g vs. 0.29 \(\upmu\)mol/g; \(p=0.009\)) levels. From the baseline to 12 weeks of supplementation, the _L. paracasei_ group and the placebo group showed significantly different TCH (\(-21.23\) vs. \(-5.21\) mg/dL; \(p=0.037\)), HDL-C (2.73 vs. \(-3.04\) mg/dL; \(p=0.001\)), FBS (\(-4.38\) vs. 6.71 mg/dL; \(p=0.046\)) and lactic acid (3.09 vs. 0.33 \(\upmu\)mol/g; \(p=0.009\)) levels with 95% CI, while TAC (9.76 vs. \(-1.77\)\(\upmu\)mol/mL; \(p=0.052\)), MDA (\(-0.13\) vs. \(-0.07\)\(\upmu\)mol/mL; \(p=0.055\)), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-\(\alpha\) (\(-9.28\) vs. 0.62 pg/mL; \(p=0.082\)) were significantly different, with 90% CI. Moreover, between 6 and 12 weeks, the _L. paracasei_ group and the placebo group showed significantly different TCH (\(-13.12\) vs. \(-1.29\) mg/dL; \(p=0.047\)), HDL-C (4.08 vs. \(-1.33\) mg/dL; \(p=0.003\)), LDL-C (\(-9.92\) vs. 0.16 mg/dL; \(p=0.021\)), lactic acid (0.88 vs. 0.04 \(\upmu\)mol/g; \(p=0.013\)) and TNF-\(\alpha\) (\(-3.10\) vs. 2.55 pg/mL; \(p=0.014\)) levels with 95% CI, whereas TAC (5.29 vs. \(-3.54\)\(\upmu\)mol/mL; \(p=0.085\)), MDA (\(-0.06\) vs. \(-0.03\)\(\upmu\)mol/mL; \(p=0.063\)), LPS (\(-17.32\) vs. \(-7.36\) png/mL; \(p=0.092\)), and IgA (80.69 vs. 21.62 ng/mL; \(p=0.069\)) were significantly different with 90% CI. The changes in the study parameters between the groups at different times are summarized in Table 3.