Mechanisms of action of plant sterols on inhibition of cholesterol absorption

Heinemann, Thomas; Kullak-Ublick, Gerd-Achim; Pietruck, B.; Bergmann, Klaus von

doi:10.1007/bf01409411

Cited by 76 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Studies on healthy Wistar rats have shown that when the diet contains no cholesterol, plant stanols and plant sterols reduce serum cholesterol levels to the same extent, and when cholesterol is included in the diet, plant stanols exhibit greater hypocholesterolemic activity (46)(47)(48). In healthy hypercholesterolemic subjects also, both stanols and sterols reduce serum cholesterol to the same extent (49)(50)(51), although some studies have claimed that stanols are more effective than sterols (52)(53)(54)(55)(56). The hypocholesterolemic action of sterols and stanols in normal rats and healthy humans is most likely related to their ability to inhibit intestinal absorption of both dietary and enterohepatically circulating cholesterol (46)(47)(48)54).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Comparative health effects of margarines fortified with plant sterols and stanols on a rat model for hemorrhagic stroke

Ratnayake

Plouffe

L’Abbé

et al. 2003

Lipids

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is increased acceptance of fortifying habitual foods with plant sterols and their saturated derivatives, stanols, at levels that are considered safe. These sterols and stanols are recognized as potentially effective dietary components for lowering plasma total and LDL cholesterol. Our previous studies have shown that daily consumption of plant sterols promotes strokes and shortens the life span of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive (SHRSP) rats. These studies question the safety of plant sterol additives. The present study was performed to determine whether a large intake of plant stanols would cause nutritional effects similar to those seen with plant sterols in SHRSP rats. Young SHRSP rats (aged 26-29 d) were fed semipurified diets containing commercial margarines fortified with either plant stanols (1.1 g/100 g diet) or plant sterols (1.4 g/100 g diet). A reference group of SHRSP rats was fed a soybean oil diet (0.02 g plant sterols/100 g diet and no plant stanols). Compared to soybean oil, both plant stanol and plant sterol margarines significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the life span of SHRSP rats. At the initial stages of feeding, there was no difference in the survival rates between the two margarine groups, but after approximately 50 d of feeding, the plant stanol group had a slightly, but significantly (P < 0.05), lower survival rate. Blood and tissue (plasma, red blood cells, liver, and kidney) concentrations of plant sterols in the plant sterol margarine group were three to four times higher than the corresponding tissue concentrations of plant stanols in the plant stanol group. The deformability of red blood cells and the platelet count of SHRSP rats fed the plant sterol margarine were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those of the plant stanol margarine and soybean oil groups at the end of the study. These parameters did not differ between the soybean oil and plant stanol margarine groups. These results suggest that, at the levels tested in the present study, plant stanols provoke hemorrhagic stroke in SHRSP rats to a slightly greater extent than plant sterols. The results also suggest that the mechanism by which plant stanols shorten the life span of SHRSP rats might differ from that of plant sterols.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Comparative health effects of margarines fortified with plant sterols and stanols on a rat model for hemorrhagic stroke

Ratnayake

Plouffe

L’Abbé

et al. 2003

Lipids

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, phytosterols may displace cholesterol from mixed micelles, because they are more hydrophobic than cholesterol. This replacement causes a reduction of micellar cholesterol concentrations and, consequently, lowers cholesterol absorption (6,17,21,59). The unabsorbed cholesterol is excreted in the faeces, increasing its concentration at this level (74) and, therefore, its elimination from the body.…”

Section: Plant Sterols and Stanols As Cholesterollowering Agentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of naturally-occurring plant sterols on intestinal cholesterol absorption and plasmatic levels

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cardiovascular disease is a major health problem in developed countries although its incidence is relatively lower in Mediterranean countries which is partly ascribed to dietary habits. Epidemiologic evidence shows that elevated serum cholesterol, specifically low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (c-LDL), increases cardiovascular disease. Phytosterols are bioactive compounds, found in all vegetable foods, which inhibit intestinal cholesterol absorption and, therefore, have a serum cholesterol-lowering effect. Intestinal cholesterol absorption is a multistep process where plant sterols and stanols may act: a) attenuating the NPC1L1 gene expression, which may result in a lower cholesterol uptake from the lumen; b) lowering the cholesterol esterification rate by the ACAT2 (acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase) and, consequently, the amount of cholesterol secreted via the chylomicrons and c) upregulating the expression of ABC-transporters ABCG5 and ABCG8 in intestinal cells, which may result in an increased excretion of cholesterol by the enterocyte back into the lumen. Many clinical trials proved that commercial products enriched with phytosterols reduce cholesterol levels. Likewise, recent studies show that phytosterols present in natural food matrices are also effective and could be an important component of cardioprotective dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet.

show abstract

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that phytosterols dissolved in food fats, such as margarine or in a liquid formula, show recognized long-term cholesterollowering properties [2] due to their ability to reduce intestinal cholesterol absorption [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytosterol‐Enriched Yogurt Increases LDL Affinity and Reduces CD36 Expression in Polygenic Hypercholesterolemia

Ruiu

Pinach

Veglia

et al. 2008

Lipids

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dietary enrichment with phytosterols (plant sterols similar to cholesterol) is able to reduce plasma cholesterol levels due to reduced intestinal absorption. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of phytosterol-enriched yogurt consumption on the major serum lipid parameters, low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor activity, LDL-receptor affinity, and CD36 expression in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Fifteen patients affected by polygenic hypercholesterolemia were evaluated in a single-blind randomized crossover study after a 4 weeks treatment with a phytosterol-enriched yogurt containing 1.6 g esterefied phytosterols (equivalent to 1.0 g free phytosterol). Lipid parameters were compared with a phytosterol-free placebo-controlled diet. The effect of the two treatments on each variable, measured as percentage change, was compared by paired samples t test and covariance analysis. The treatment induced a modest but significant decrease in LDL-cholesterol levels (4.3%, P = 0.03) and a significant increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL) 3-cholesterol (17.1%, P = 0.01). Phytosterol consumption had no effect on LDL-receptor activity whereas patient LDL-receptor affinity significantly increased (9.7%, P = 0.01) and CD36 expression showed a marked significant decrease (18.2%, P = 0.01) in the phytosterol-enriched yoghurt patients. Our data show that the oral administration of a phytosterol-enriched yogurt has modest but significant effects on commonly measured lipid parameters. The improvement of LDL-receptor affinity and the reduction in CD36 expression may reflect an important antiatherogenic effect.

show abstract

Mechanisms of action of plant sterols on inhibition of cholesterol absorption

Cited by 76 publications

References 19 publications

Comparative health effects of margarines fortified with plant sterols and stanols on a rat model for hemorrhagic stroke

Comparative health effects of margarines fortified with plant sterols and stanols on a rat model for hemorrhagic stroke

Role of naturally-occurring plant sterols on intestinal cholesterol absorption and plasmatic levels

Phytosterol‐Enriched Yogurt Increases LDL Affinity and Reduces CD36 Expression in Polygenic Hypercholesterolemia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About