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Food as medicine
Published in Geoffrey P. Webb, Nutrition, 2019
Plants do not produce cholesterol but they do produce a range of steroids which are very similar in chemical structure to cholesterol and are collectively termed phytosterols. The most prevalent of these plant sterols are called β-sitosterol and campesterol which make up over 80% of total dietary phytosterols. Other phytosterols include stigmasterol and the fungal steroid ergosterol which when irradiated with UV light yields vitamin D2. The average daily intake of these plant sterols is normally around 100–300 mg in the UK with the highest intakes in vegetarians. These plant sterols are structurally very similar to cholesterol e.g. the only difference between cholesterol and β-sitosterol is that the latter has an extra ethyl (CH3CH2) group attached to carbon 24 of cholesterol. Cholesterol and most plant sterols have a double bond in one of the rings of the steroid nucleus (between carbons 5 and 6). A tiny proportion of the plant sterols in the diet do not have this double bond and are sometimes termed the saturated phytosterols or the (phyto)stanols– these structures are exemplified in Figure 14.3 which shows the structures of cholesterol, β-sitosterol and β-sitostanol.
The Effect of Phytosterol-Rich Fraction from Palm Fatty Acid Distillate on Blood Serum Lipid Profile of Dyslipidemia Rats
Published in Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2018
Kgs Ahmadi, Huda Oktafa, Teti Estiasih
Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) is a by-product of the physical refining of crude palm oil in the deodorization step. In general, PFAD contains 80% to 90% of free fatty acid, some unsaponifiable components, neutral lipid, glycerides, and other high-molecular-weight compounds. For the past decade, PFAD has been used as a source of vitamin E, squalene, and phytosterols for pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries (Gapor, 2010). Palm oil phytosterols are composed of campesterol (13%), β sitosterol (60%), and stigmasterol (24%) (Loganathan et al., 2009). Phytosterol composition did not change during the degumming and bleaching process in palm oil refining (Puah et al., 2004). Goh and Gee (1985) reported that squalene was the main component of PFAD hydrocarbons, with other minor components.
Application of liquisolid technology for promoting the renoprotective efficacy of walnut extracts in chronic renal failure rat model
Published in Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 2019
Sahar Youssef Al-Okbi, Doha Abdou Mohamed, Thanaa El-Sayed Hamed, Sameh Hosam Abd El-Alim, Ahmed Alaa Kassem, Dina Mahmoud Mostafa
Walnut (Juglans regia L., family Juglandaceae) is a popular food around the world. It is rich in bioactive constituents that could be utilized as nutraceuticals for the protection and use as complementary medicine in different chronic diseases. The nonpolar extract of walnut was reported to contain tocopherols, unsaturated fatty acids and phytosterols [5–7]. It contains oleic acid (C18:1), a monounsaturated fatty acid, linoleic acid (C18:2) as omega-6 fatty acid and linolenic acid (C18:3) as omega-3 fatty acid. It also contains campesterol, stigmasterol and beta-sitosterols. The polar extract is rich in phenolic compounds, the main of which is pedunculagin, an ellagitannin [5,7]. Walnut bioactive constituents were demonstrated to possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities [5,7]. Potential health role of walnut on initiation and progression of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases were reported [5,6,8]. Walnut oil, when used in combination with other plant food extracts, has therapeutic role in adjuvant arthritis in rats [9]. In a previous work, a mixture of both the alcohol i.e. polar, and petroleum ether i.e. non polar extracts of walnut showed high safety and proved to have renoprotective effect in rat model of cisplatin induced renal dysfunction when applied at a dose level of 250 mg/kg rat body weight [7]. This dose level equals 2800 mg for 70 kg human when changing the dose from rat to human according to Paget & Barnes [10]. In spite of the health benefits of walnut extracts, the poor water solubility and incomplete absorption of its constituents leads to diminished biological effects.
The Effects of Sterol-Related Signaling Pathways on Glioma
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2022
Masoumeh Eslahi, Parisa Maleki Dana, Fatemeh Sadoughi, Jamal Hallajzadeh, Zatollah Asemi, Mehran Sharifi, Mohammad Ali Mansournia, Bahman Yousefi
Sterols, also known as steroid alcohols, are a subgroup of the steroids which are vital components of all eukaryotic cells. Natural sources of these compounds are plants, animals, fungi, microalgae, and yeasts. They are also produced by some protozoans and microheterotrophs (19). Cholesterol is the most common type of animal sterol, which is vital for the structure of the cell membrane. Sterols of plants are called phytosterols and divided into four subgroups, including campesterol, sitosterol, stigmasterol, and ergosterol. Except for their substitutions at the C-24 position of the sterol side chain, phytosterols are structurally similar to cholesterol (20).