165 Sterols are organic compounds, widely distributed in nature. Sterols are essential structural components of eukaryotic cell membranes, where they regulate membrane fluidity and permeability as well as membrane-associated metabolic processes. They occur naturally in animals, plants and fungi. Sterols of animals are called zoosterols. The most familiar type of animal sterol is cholesterol. Th...

Methods were developed for the separation, detection, and quantification of tocopherols and phytosterols by high-performance liquid chromatography with an evaporative light-scattering detector. Four tocopherolsa, fJ, y and o-and four phytosterols-campesterol, fJ-sitosterol, brassicasterol, and stigmasterol-were analyzed in soybean, sunflower, low-erucic acid rapeseed (LEAR) and com oils. The us...

This study determined the effect of phytosterol structure, including the degree of unsaturation and the presence of an ethylidene group in the side chain, on the thermal polymerization of heated soybean oil. Indigenous tocopherols and phytosterols were removed from soybean oil by molecular distillation. Pure phytosterols were added back to the stripped soybean oil at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0,...

This study investigated the effect of green house conditions (temperature and soil moisture) on soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seeds bioactive compound concentrations. The analyses included plant characters and bioactive compounds contents. There were a good relationship between maturity date and total sphingolipids. Jack and Queen, among the latest and earliest had maturing entries, respecti...

BACKGROUND There are safety concerns regarding widespread consumption of phytosterol and phytostanol supplemented food products. The aim of this study was to determine, in the absence of excess dietary salt, the individual effects of excess accumulation of dietary phytosterols and phytostanols on blood pressure in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) inbred rats that have a mutation in the Abcg5 gene and thus ov...

Lin et al 1 present an interesting study in which they tested the hypothesis that combining ezetimibe and phytosterols is more effective than ezetimibe treatment alone in reducing serum cholesterol. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, triple-crossover study, they found that combining ezetimibe with phytos-terols is more effective in reducing cholesterol levels than ezetimibe alon...

Hypercholesterolaemia is a risk factor of cardiovascular diseases and is therefore a major target for primary and secondary prevention. Maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle reduces cardiovascular risk. ‘Functional foods’ supplemented with phytosterols are advertised for the management of hypercholesterolaemia and have become a widely used non-prescription approach to lower plasma cholestero...

The understanding of cholesterol and its pathogenesis to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenic process is important for the possible prevention of AD. High fibre diets that contain phytosterols have been shown to lower LDL and increase HDL cholesterol and are implicated in membrane cholesterol and amyloid beta (Aβ) homeostasis. The convergence of diet and AD may be related to the effects of phyto...

BACKGROUND Both ezetimibe and phytosterols inhibit cholesterol absorption. We tested the hypothesis that the combination of ezetimibe and phytosterols is more effective than ezetimibe alone in altering cholesterol metabolism. METHODS AND RESULTS Twenty-one mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, triple-crossover study. Each subject receiv...

Phytosterols are common components of plant foods, especially vegetable oils, seeds, nuts and cereals. It is generally assumed that all serum and tissue phytosterols are derived exclusively by intestinal absorption and therefore that serum levels of phytosterols reflect dietary plant sterol intake and intestinal absorption (Miettinen et al. 1990). We suggest that there is another route of intak...