Phytosterols in human nutrition: Type, formulation, delivery, and physiological function

Abstract

Phytosterols are a family of compounds similar to cholesterol which have been shown to lower cholesterol levels when supplemented in the diet. A daily dose of 2-3 g of phytosterols has been shown to reduce LDL-cholesterol levels by 5-15%. Phytosterol supplementation can be undertaken using phytosterol enriched functional foods or nutraceutical preparations. The type of phytosterol supplemented, such as plant sterol or saturated plant stanol appear to be equally effective in lowering cholesterol levels. Phytosterols, whether in esterified or free form have both been shown to lower cholesterol levels, with esterified phytosterol formulations having a greater number of clinical trials demonstrating efficacy. The functional food or nutraceutical matrix which is used to deliver supplemental phytosterols can significantly affect cholesterol lowering efficacy. Effective cholesterol lowering by phytosterols depends on delivery of phytosterols to the intestine in a form which can compete with cholesterol for absorption. New phytosterol functional food and nutraceuticals products should always be tested to demonstrate adequate delivery of phytosterol dose and effective total and LDL-cholesterol lowering. Phytosterol products which do not effectively lower cholesterol will negatively impact the perception and use of phytosterols, and must not be allowed on the marketplace.

Phytosterols improve immunity and exert anti‐inflammatory activity in weaned piglets

“…Phytosterols (PS) are plant‐derived natural steroid compounds and mainly originate from vegetable oils, plant seeds and legume products . With a similar structure to cholesterol, PS have been shown to reduce cholesterol absorption via competitive inhibition . Medical research has revealed the beneficial effects of PS on immune regulation and anti‐inflammatory activity in vitro .…”

Minor components in oils obtained from Amazonian palm fruits

“…Their importance in the characterization and detection of oil mixtures are of great interest (Aparicio and Aparicio-Ruiz, 2000;Janssen et al, 2009). Also, the nutritional value of edible oils depends on the content and composition of biological active compounds from this fraction such as phytosterols which prevent the intestinal absorption of cholesterol in humans, resulting in a lowering of serum cholesterol (Mackay and Jones, 2011) or tocopherols, vitamin E compounds only synthesized by plants, which are well recognized for their effective inhibition of lipid oxidation in foods and biological systems (KamalEldin and Appleqvist, 1996).…”

Lipid-lowering Activity of Natural and Semi-Synthetic Sterols and Stanols

“…They are structurally similar to cholesterol with some differences in the D-ring side chain (1)(2)(3). The term phytosterols is widely used to describe both plant sterols, which have a double bond at position 5 of the sterol ring, and plant stanols in which the double bond is saturated (4,5) (Figure 1). Phytosterols are extracted from vegetable oils such as corn oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, olive oil and tall oil either in free forms or as fatty acid esters (6).…”