Beta-sitosterol (BSS) and its glycoside (BSSG) are sterol molecules which are synthesized by plants. When humans eat plant foods phytosterols are ingested, and are found in the serum and tissues of healthy individuals, but at concentrations orders of magnitude lower than endogenous cholesterol. Epidemiological studies have correlated a reduced risk of numerous diseases with a diet high in fruit...

On a global level and over number of years, many researchers have been studying the effects organic conventional production methods on chemical composition plants their products. The aim this study was to determine potential difference in contents several nutrients/phytochemicals organically conventionally produced buckwheat grains. Buckwheat sown 2016 at site Nova Varoš. experimental plot cove...

Teucrium species have been used for centuries in folk medicine as cholagogic, diuretic, antispasmodic, and antidiabetic agents [1]; as antirheumatic, antiinflammatory, antiseptic, anthelmintic, carminative and flavouring agents [2]; and as antipyretics and stimulants [3]. The genus Teucrium comprises approximately 200 herbs and shrubs spread all over the world, especially in the Mediterranean r...

It is estimated that ischaemic heart disease (IHD) will be the leading contributor to the global burden of disease in the future, moving from fifth place in 1990 to first in 2020. Changes in lifestyle such as increased smoking, sedentary occupations, adoption of high-fat, high animal protein diets and increased exposure to stressful urban situations will increase the risk of IHD and stroke. 2-4...

The cholesterol-lowering effect of plant sterols was first discovered in the early 1950s. However, it is only recently that plant sterols have become clinically important, when advances in food-technology have made it possible to combine sterols with a variety of food products including margarines, yogurts, fruit juices and cereal bars. We review the clinical trial evidence of lipid-lowering ef...

The inclusion complex of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HBbetaCD) and phytosterols (PSs) was prepared and characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Biotransformation of the inclusion complex of phytosterols and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (PSs-HBbetaCD) by Mycobacterium neoaurum to 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione and 4-androstene-3,17-dione [AD(D)] was...

Objective: The present work has been done to establish various pharmacognostical, physicochemical and phytochemical parameters of the leaf of Piper betle Linn. (Bangla variety) belonging to family Piperaceae. This could serve as a measure of authentication and quality control of the crude drug. Methods: Organoleptic, anatomical, microscopic, physicochemical analysis and preliminary phytochemica...

The overloading of cholesterol in the arteries remains the principal cause of cardiovascular diseases. Since available anticholesterolemic drugs are not completely effective and have several severe adverse effects, the aim of this review is to analyze current research focused on the emerging, innovative therapeutic strategies based on both pharmacological and nutritional interventions to contro...

Objective—Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. Therapeutic lifestyle changes include dietary modifications such as inclusion of phytosterols, which effectively lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in margarines and other fats. Their effectiveness in nonfat moieties is not yet established. The aim of this study was to examine if phytosterols alter ...

Niemann-Pick C1 Like 1 (NPC1L1) is a protein localized in jejunal enterocytes that is critical for intestinal cholesterol absorption. The uptake of intestinal phytosterols and cholesterol into absorptive enterocytes in the intestine is not fully defined on a molecular level, and the role of NPC1L1 in maintaining whole body cholesterol homeostasis is not known. NPC1L1 null mice had substantially...