Phytosterol and its esters as novel food ingredients: A review

Abstract

Phytosterols or stanols are large group of compounds found exclusively in plants. These are naturally present in plants and are structurally similar to cholesterol. A daily intake of 3 g of phytosterol (or their reduced form stanols) is associated with consistent and reproducible reduction in LDL cholesterol concentrations upto 10% and reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by 20% over a lifetime. Studies have concluded that the effective doses for reduction of cholesterol are between 1.5 and 3g/day, leading to decrease in 8% and 15% of LDL-cholesterol. The principal mechanism of action is based on interference with the solubilization of the cholesterol in the intestinal mucosa. Several studies have validated the cholesterol lowering effect of phytosterols and stanols along with its role in prevention of coronary heart diseases. Plant sterols and stanols appear to be unhazardous to health in a large number of human studies and no evidence of toxicity even at high dose levels has been reported. Changing lifestyle, constant stress and risk towards various diseases have necessitated the need of such vital neutraceuticals to be incorporated in diet and daily food items. Such new foods and formulations should pave the way for greater use of phytosterols in heart health promotion, increasing the long term potential for the creation of innovative functional foods containing plant sterols and their derivatives.

Solvent-free synthesis of phytosterol linoleic acid esters at low temperature

“…[1][2][3][4] A study reported that a daily intake of 1.5-3 g of phytosterol could decrease low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by 8-15%. 5 Although they have potential applications, the bioavailability of phytosterols is greatly limited by their high melting points (>135 C) and low oil solubility. 6 Esterication of phytosterols with fatty acids is one of the most efficient methods to improve the solubility of phytosterols.…”

“…1,7 Previous studies have identied that the esteried phytosterols can effectively decrease LDL-C levels in a similar manner as the free phytosterols, which suggests phytosterol and its esters can be used as novel food ingredients. 5,8 The esterication of phytosterol and fatty acids can be catalyzed by chemo-catalysts or enzyme. 1 Up to now, chemical catalysis is still the main method of industrial production of phytosterol esters.…”

“… 1,7 Previous studies have identified that the esterified phytosterols can effectively decrease LDL-C levels in a similar manner as the free phytosterols, which suggests phytosterol and its esters can be used as novel food ingredients. 5,8 …”

Enzymatic preparation of phytosterol esters with fatty acids from high-oleic sunflower seed oil using response surface methodology

“…[1][2][3][4][5] A study showed that a daily intake of 1.5-3 g phytosterols could cause a decrease of 8%-15% in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). 6 Despite their potential applications, the bioavailability of phytosterols was greatly limited by their high melting points (>135 C), weak oil solubility and water solubility. 7 Esterication of phytosterols with fatty acids is one of the most efficient methods to overcome these limitations.…”

Highly Efficient Synthesis of Hydrophilic Phytosterol Derivatives Catalyzed by Ionic Liquid

“…Abundant studies in vivo proved that phytosterols could reduce both total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in animal or humans by inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol through the small intestine (Chen, Jiao, & Ma, 2008;Cui, Guan, Xing, Chen, & Tan, 2016). Daily intake of 3 g phytosterols decreased LDL-C concentrations by 10% and reduced the risk of coronary heart disease by 20% (Chawla, Sivakumar, & Goel, 2016). Phytosterols also exhibited properties that directly inhibit tumor growth, Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1002/aocs.12024) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.…”